Operation Youkai
by Acaykath
Summary: Cannon: AUPairings: K2xI, SxMSummary: Fifty years ago a military experiment released the dreaded demons to wreak havoc on Japan, now the government is trying to clean up it's mess, and Kagome has no choice but to use her miko powers to help.
1. The Subjugation of the Dog Eared Boy

**AN:** This is the next story that I shall be completeing (after HotW). Wasn't gonna start posting it yet, but since I have a few chapters done, I thought it might be nice, since a certain reviewer decided to suggest I read a few really long stories, which is why HotW is not updated, don't worry, I am working on it, this is more of a peace offering for missing the daily updates I'd been doing for the past week.

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CH01: The Subjugation of the Dog Eared Boy

* * *

"Souta, stand straight and keep the line of the arrow." Kagome instructed her little brother. Archery was an ancient art, but her grandfather refused to keep modern weapons on the shrine grounds, and arrows seemed to be more effective against the demons, especially when they came from the bow of a priest. At least that's what her grandfather had told her, but who could really believe anything the old coot said. The old man had probably forgotten more than she had ever learned about priestly ways, and he made things up all the time to fill in the gaps. "Look along the arrow and aim above the target." If there was a real demon she was sure that this would be of no help. She had seen the fighting on the news, sometimes, not even rocket launchers that scored direct hits even slowed the beasts down. How was a little arrow supposed to help? "Make sure you are steady and release." Of course, it didn't matter how powerful a weapon was if you couldn't hit anything with it. Souta proved this as his arrow performed a nosedive and did not even hit the well house, let alone the target marked on the wall. He prepared another arrow, and Kagome did as well, within seconds, her arrow had let fly and struck the second ring of the target. 

The demons had appeared almost fifty years ago. There were rumors that they had been a government experiment that had gotten out of control, but nothing could be confirmed. Kagome had not actually seen a demon herself, except on the news, but she had seen some of the damage they caused when they attacked. The shrine was on the outskirts of the city, and posed no military value. Kagome assumed that this was why the shrine had only ever seen one demon attack, the one that had killed her father before Souta had been born. Supposedly her father had defended her mother from the demon and was consumed, but had managed to seal the creature within the old well in the process. Souta fired his arrow. This time he launched it solidly; it missed the target and actually flew through a knot hole of the wood.

"Missed again." Souta complained, just before the well house exploded and a giant centipede with the head and torso of a woman burst into view.

"Look out!" A red and silver blur passed in front of her and Souta disappeared. The centipede demon crashed into the stone floor of the courtyard, shattering the cobblestones where Souta had been standing. Kagome could only stare in shock as the centipede got up, and followed the direction her brother had been taken without pause. She turned to look at the guy who stood there holding her brother. He was wearing a red haori and had long silver hair. While the clothes and hair were odd, his claws, fangs and dog ears were even stranger. His amber eyes were staring straight back at her, looking even more shocked than she was. The centipede was barreling towards him and he was busy staring at her like she was a ghost.

"Stop staring and move!" She shot her arrow and it struck right between the shoulders of the centipede. She was prepared for many outcomes of this attack, the arrow bouncing off, or causing the demon to attack her instead, or something equally ineffectual, but instead there was a flash of light and the centipedes body fell to the ground. Its head and torso were now disintegrated and six disconnected arms fell around it.

"Kikyo..." The guy holding Souta growled.

"Put my brother down!" Kagome ordered the not quite human creature before her as she aimed her last arrow at him.

* * *

"Kikyo!" The black haired boy called out as he waited in the forest where his girl had agreed to meet him. He began searching around. It wasn't like her to be late. She literally did everything with military precision. That's what happens when you are a member of an elite demon slaying squad. They had been partners for almost a year now, and had been dating as well for most of that time. Inuyasha fondled the small box that was lying in the bottom of the pocket of his military fatigues. He had been saving for months to purchase the ring, and he hoped that by the end of his date, he'd have a chance to use it. The ground squelched sickeningly as he stepped forward. He knelt down and placed his hand on the wet soil. When he looked at it, it was covered in red. Now he was really worried. "Kikyo!" He called out again as he wiped the blood off of his hand and onto his uniform. 

"You bastard!" A familiar voice yelled from behind him. He turned to see his girlfriend in her usual priestly robes pointing her arrow at him. She released the arrow, but collapsed as she was doing so making the arrow go off target and pin him to a tree by the shoulder rather than piercing through his heart. As she fell, he saw that she also was injured. Her back was covered in blood, and right between her shoulders was a military issue combat knife much like the one he carried around.

* * *

"Kikyo..." The silver haired boy said once again. Kagome released her arrow, but the boy's reflexes were fast and he snatched the arrow out of the air. For a moment, Kagome thought she saw his claws fade into normal nails, but he snapped the arrow in half, and his claws were back to normal. Perhaps she had imagined it. "What the hell do you think you are doing wench!" The boy yelled. 

"I told you to let my brother go!"

"Huh?" Inuyasha, still holding Souta by the back of his shirt, lifted the boy so he could look him in the eye. He had a funny expression on his face. It wasn't fear, like people usually had on their faces when meeting him. He realized what the expression was when he felt the boy's little hands rubbing his dog-like ears. He growled and dropped the boy.

"My turn!" The girl seemed much less angry now that her brother was free. She, like her brother before her, reached up and grabbed his ears.

"Stop that!" Inuyasha glared at her, trying to suppress the quiet purring that was emitting from his chest. "Leave my ears alone wench!" He pulled away from the crazy girl who bore such a resemblance to his former girlfriend, though she was much less self-controlled than Kikyo ever was.

"Kagome!" Her grandfather came out, followed by her mother. "Are you okay?"

"What cute ears." Her mother said, forgetting about the terrible commotion she had heard and the demon corpse littering the courtyard.

"What is with you people! Leave my ears alone!" Inuyasha yelled as he covered his ears and ran from the woman who like her children seemed to have an uncontrollable urge to fondle his ears. He stuck his claw into his ear activating the transmitter aspect of his communicator. "The demon is dead! I need immediate extraction."

"What's your rush?" An old woman's voice said into his ear.

"Just get me out of here!" He jumped onto the branch of the old tree in the courtyard and out of reach. Soon the sounds of a helicopter were heard and a military helicopter came into view. Inuyasha jumped from the tree and grabbed the bottom of the helicopter, then climbed inside.

"Methinks that this does not look like your handiwork, Inuyasha." The old woman said her ancient style of speaking making her sound much older than she was.

"The girl killed it." Inuyasha replied.

* * *

"Release the demon." Kaede told the troops outside the Higurashi Shrine. They obeyed her command, and a human sized demon that was completely black except for its glowing red claws and eyes was released from a metal crate. Around its neck was a beaded necklace. "Attack the girl and no one else if you do not wish to be punished." The demon, obviously afraid of the old woman obeyed, immediately leaping off the wall and onto the shrine grounds. 

Because the well house had been destroyed by the centipede demon the previous day, the target was hanging from the old tree. Souta was not having any luck with his archery, as usual. He fired an arrow quite powerfully, and it missed the tree and flew over the wall, striking the black demon that had just appeared. The demon's eyes flared angrily, and the arrow which had embedded itself into the demon's shoulder caught fire and disintegrated into ash. It launched itself at its attacker, only to be slammed into the ground by the necklace hanging around its neck. It struggled to its feet, shaking off the impact and turned its attention to Kagome. It smiled wickedly as it took a deep breath.

"Souta, run!" Kagome yelled. The two took off in opposite directions as a cone of flames scorched the area where they had just been standing. Souta hid behind a stone statue, while Kagome ran around the demon, screaming insults at it in an attempt to make the demon forget her brother. "What stupid luck, eight years without a demon attack, and suddenly they are appearing daily." She shot an arrow at the beast, but because she was moving her aim was off. She had no arrows left. She screamed as the demon pounced. She swung her bow, striking the demon in the face. Like the day before, this demon was enveloped in light, and the majority of its body disintegrated. All that was left was a pile of dust and a handful of beads.

A pair of hands grabbed her from behind, picking her up like a sack of potatoes. "You're coming with us." A voice growled.

"Let me go!" She screamed as she tried to escape the powerful claws of her captor. As if responding to her distress the beads that had been around the black demon's neck began to glow and shot towards her captor.

"What the hell are you doing wench!" He captor dropped her. She turned and saw the boy with the dog ears struggling to remove the necklace which now seemed to be permanently attached to his neck. Kagome stood up. "Don't even think about it!" Inuyasha growled as he noticed her glancing at his ears. He grabbed her arm and began dragging her towards the shrine entrance, muttering to himself.

"Let me go." He ignored her, "Bad dog!" She yelled. This elicited a growl. She began to try other dog commands, to see if he was trained at all, as he seemed to be ignoring all other forms of human communication. As they arrived at the top of the steps she said "Sit boy!" and this was effective. Not only did he let her go, he fell face down into the ground. She heard the sounds of stifled laughter as a group of military men watched their comrade subjugated by a teenage girl. Even the old woman in priestess garments smiled at the sight.

"If I had thought of that fifty years ago, I would have saved myself a lot of trouble training him." The old woman said with a smile.

"Get these off of me you old hag!" Inuyasha yelled at the woman.

"You know that there is only two ways to remove them Inuyasha, either convince the one who activated them to remove them for you or die. I am reluctant to have either occur at the moment." Inuyasha growled and glared at the old woman.

* * *

"Don't move." He heard a voice say. Naturally, he didn't listen and sharp pain shot through him. Breathing itself was extremely painful. "The arrow grazed your lung." Inuyasha tried to move his head, but found that it was restrained. He tried to move the far arm from his wound, but that was also restrained. His legs were restrained as well, and he could only assume the tension he felt on his chest included restraints in addition to bandages. 

"Where am I?"

"One would think that you would recognize this place by now, considering you are its most frequent visitor." Kaede's voice answered him. He supposed she was right, his recklessness had led to several visits to the medical wing of the base, even when he wasn't on missions. "We would have left you asleep, but we required your consent." Kaede continued, "The damage to your lung and surrounding tissue was severe, but with conventional surgery you might be able to live a normal life, though you would never be fit enough to continue you military career, especially in this branch."

"If it's that or die, just do the damn surgery!" Inuyasha said angrily.

"There is also one more option." Kaede explained, "As you know, the Youkai program has continued secretly, even since the containment breach, but they have created an experimental procedure that they would like a test subject for."

"So I get to be a cripple or a demon."

"You know that not all the Youkai are failures, your brother for one was a success, and even though he resigned his commission not long after the process was completed."

"You call that successful? His attitude is even worse than before he underwent the treatment. He would have been better if you had just let him go crazy like the others."

"They think they have found a way to make you only half demon, your human side would hopefully remain uncorrupted and keep you sane while giving you many of the benefits of being a demon."

"A half demon?"

"Aye, though it requires the use of blood from a family member who is already a demon."

"No way am I accepting help from that bastard." Inuyasha insisted.

"He is obviously unable to think clearly." His brother's sinisterly superior tone was unmistakable. "This Sesshomaru will make his medical decisions for him. He will be used for the hanyou project"

"You bastard!"

* * *

"Sit boy!" Kagome said, silencing Inuyasha's pleas for release. 

"Methinks I like when the dog is collared." Kaede said, "But what he had said is true, you must come with us."

"Why should I?" Kagome asked belligerently.

"Article thirty-eight of the provisions for the crises of state bill that was passed an equal number of years ago states that any citizen deemed of value to the military must serve for a minimum of two years if there is significant threat to the country's sovereignty."

"But there isn't any threat!"

"As long as the demons are loose and attacking, there is still a threat." Kaede informed her, "As was declared twenty-two years ago when the majority of the ruling party was slaughtered by a demon. There is also the problem of Japan's economic crises which is directly linked to the demon problem, as other countries do not with to put themselves in danger by allowing a chance for one to escape."

"Isn't there someone else who can help?"

"Aye, but she died fifty years ago." Kaede informed her, "And refusal to obey conscription laws is considered minor treason and carries stiff penalties."

"So what you are saying is that I have no choice."

"Don't worry; you probably won't live long anyway, so enjoy it while you can." Inuyasha smirked.

"Sit boy!"

"Methinks someone will not live long, and it is not her." Kaede said.


	2. Kagome's Power and the Monk's Curse

**AN: **Just cause it is ready anyways, heres another chapter. Now back to writing HoTW, or else I'll find this story done before I finish it.

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**CH02: Kagome's Power and the Monk's Curse**

* * *

Kagome was given the opportunity to explain what was going on to her family. Her mother cried, but perked up when she was given the opportunity to play with Inuyasha's ears after he had irritated Kagome. Souta thought it was cool that she was going to be joining an elite squad of military demon slayers. Grandpa started telling her of the wonders that an imp hand pickled in fish oil and garlic could do for her fighting abilities.

"I'll be back as soon as I can." Kagome said, hugging her mother and brother.

"Kick some demon butt sis!"

"Can I get you anything before you go?" her mother asked.

"Thanks, but they said that everything I need would be provided, and I shouldn't take anything with me. Actually, I am getting quite a lot. Apparently being a demon fighter gets good benefits: Health, dental, four months vacation... for medical purposes... as well as a minimum pay grade of O-4 which I'm told is about four-hundred-thirty-thousand yen per month, and since I am one of their more promising candidates." 'Of course, those that don't deserve the pay level don't survive long enough for it to cost the government much money.' she added silently to herself.

"Be careful dear." Her mother gave her one last hug.

"I'll be okay, and I will see you every few weeks and tell you how things are going." Kagome was surprised, when it had come to her goodbyes, Inuyasha had stood back silently rather than make an ass out of himself. She wondered if maybe the guy wasn't as bad as she had thought. That idea quickly passed quickly when she realized that he had found something else to occupy his little mind. The cat, Buyo, was hanging from the boy's hands and howling as Inuyasha jerked the cat through the air as if doing some sort of dance. "Sit boy!"

* * *

Kagome was taken far outside the town in an unremarkable jeep. After a few hours, they passed through a guard station that sat at the entrance to a chain-link fence that was labeled every few meters with signs warning of electrocution, and warnings of prosecution against trespassers. Inside the fence, Kagome was able to see sacred sutras posted on every post in the fence where there were not visible from the outside. It seemed strange to Kagome that other than the fence and guardhouse, there did not seem to be any structures visible as far as her eyes could see.

"Is that a mine field?" Kagome asked, looking out across the grass which was waist high.

"Not quite." Kaede explained, "A pressure sensitive mesh lies below the surface of the soil. Powerful directed energy weapons will melt the flesh from ye bones if ye leave the road." Upon hearing this, Kagome edged closer to the center of the jeep.

"If you have weapons like that, why do you need me?"

"A priestess' powers are much more portable that a forty ton weapon. And sometimes, much more effective."

Soon the vehicle stopped at a large patch of concrete with a metallic circle in the center. Kaede dialed a code on a small transmitter and the circle rose revealing an elevator. Once the jeep was parked in the center of the elevator, it lowered until the top of the elevator could close. A variety of biometric scanners and passwords later, a door opened in the side of the shaft allowing them to enter a white hallway that stretched several hundred meters ahead of them, lined with thick steel doors with magnetic pass card locking mechanisms.

"These facilities stretch all the way to the gate." Kaede explained, "Most of the facility is classified even beyond my level of clearance." She demonstrated by swiping an identification card in one of the doors, causing the display to flash red. "Inuyasha will take ye to be processed and show you the facilities that ye shall use."

"Follow me, wench." Inuyasha ordered, pushing Kagome dangerously close to introducing him to the white tiled floor. They walked the hallway until they reached an intersection. There, Inuyasha used a terminal that was recessed into the wall, and guarded in the same method as the doors, to locate the processing room. Kagome glanced at the screen where there was a simple map displayed along with a scrollable list of rooms. It did not appear as if he had much experience with advanced technology as he began to growl at the screen. Kagome, however, used her keen powers of observation to point out that there was a door labeled recruit processing two doors down the hall.

* * *

Surprisingly most of the process was automated. Kagome didn't even see another person for almost half an hour as form after form appeared for her to fill out on the screen. Kagome found that she had no idea what the answers to most of the questions were, but since the computer didn't complain about the lack of information, she figured that it was not to important. When she finally finished filling out the forms, a door automatically opened, and she found an actual person waiting. It was a girl a little older than her who was wearing black spandex and body armor. She carried a sword and what appeared to be a giant boomerang. The floor was padded, and the walls were covered in cases and racks which held a variety of weapons. On one side of the room there was a long corridor which appeared to be some sort of high tech target range.

"Welcome to the demon extermination squad, Kagome." The girl said, looking much friendlier than the other people she had met. "My name is Sango, and I am going to be evaluating your physical abilities."

"It's nice to meet you." Kagome said.

"So what's your specialty?" The woman asked. When Kagome failed to answer immediately displaying a confused expression Sango added, "What weapon or fighting skills do you have?"

"I am pretty good with a bow." Kagome said nervously.

"Standard, long, composite or cross?"

"Umm... Long, I think."

"I take it you were conscripted." Sango said, "Those who join voluntarily tend to know a lot about their method of fighting." She led Kagome over to the firing range and handed her a bow and some arrows of an appropriate size. "When the target appears, just hit it with your best shot." Kagome nodded and picked up the bow. It was taller than the one she had used at home, but she knew it was the size it was supposed to be. The one she had used at home had been given to her four years ago, and she had grown several inches since then. A few seconds after she was ready, a target appeared on the far wall. Her first shot landed well above the target. "Try again." Sango said. Kagome prepared another arrow and fired again when the target appeared. This time, she hit the target, but only barely as the arrow grazed the bottom of the outer ring. She had over compensated for the taller bow's strength. Several shots later, Kagome was hitting the target consistently, often within the middle three rings.

There was a beep and a display showed some statistics, which Kagome really didn't understand. "How did I do?"

"Well that wasn't bad, but you could use more practice. You're not used to this bow, so it's not surprising that your score is a little lower than it could be." Sango pushed a few buttons and her score disappeared. When a target appeared, Sango launched her boomerang with amazing power, embedding it half way into the wall at the center of the target.

"That's amazing." Kagome said, referring not just to the score that appeared on the screen, but to the fact that Sango could through such a heavy object.

"My hiraikotsu is great; my father helped me to create it from the bones and plating of demons." Sango raced down to the end of the range and yanked from the wall. The spot where the hiraikotsu had been inflated to fill the void that had been left by the weapon. "I just wish that they would assign me to demon slaying duty more often. Not that I have anything against you, but processing is much too boring." Sango pressed a swiped her card and a door opened. Just before Kagome could walk through, Sango warned her, "Watch out for the monk's right hand."

"What do you mean by that?" When Kagome turned to ask what the woman had meant, she felt something grope her backside. "Sit boy!" She yelled out of reflex. Through a wall she heard a loud crash. Knowing it wasn't Inuyasha, Kagome turned to see a monk who was wearing a rather satisfied smile. He still had his hand on her backside.

"I must have done something right in a past life to receive such beauty into my arms.

"Well it's obviously not for any noble deeds you've done in this life." Sango said striking the monk over the head with her hiraikotsu for Kagome's sake.

"Sango, your words wound me. I come from a long line of noble"

"Lechers." Sango interjected.

"Is that all you think of me, my dear Sango," The monk asked, looking absolutely forlorn, "Fortunately forgiveness is a virtue, and I shall set aside your harsh words." He was struck by Sango once again, and Kagome wasn't surprised when she noticed where his hand had been.

"Is it safe to be alone with him?" Kagome whispered to Sango.

"Don't worry; Miroku is a monk after all. Just watch his hands."

Kagome reluctantly followed the monk through the door and it closed behind her. Arrayed on the floor was a series of lead boxes arranged in a circular pattern and marked with the numbers one through thirty two and marked with a sacred seal like the ones her grandfather drew on his sutras, which coincidentally had yet to show signs of working. Around each box was a similar marking.

"For over one hundred years, the idea of spiritual energy was laughed at." The monk said, "But we have discovered that it is a real, and powerful, force. Spiritual energy can either be pure like that of a monk or a priestess or defiled like that of a demon. Each of these boxes contains a jewel shard that has been contaminated with demonic energy, the higher the number on the box the more demonic energy is contained in it. You can see that they are contained by sacred seals; these are for the safety of everyone. Demonic energy can overwhelm a person if they are not strong enough to resist it. Start at box number one and open them one by one and purify them."

"How do I do that exactly?" Kagome asked.

"According to your record, you have already purified two demons. Just try to do the same thing. If you have trouble, just keep working on the first one until you figure out how to consciously activate your abilities."

Kagome looked a little skeptical. Her grandfather was an expert and his spells never worked. She had no idea what she was doing, how could she do any better? She opened the first box and saw a sliver of crystal glowing faintly with a pinkish aura. "I don't think this one is contaminated." She said, it certainly did not feel evil to her.

"Try the next one." The monk suggested. She opened the box, and the crystal looked exactly the same as the first. "Keep going." The monk instructed watching over her shoulder as she opened the container. "This is odd. They were contaminated before you came in; I had just finished sealing them."

"Are you sure you didn't accidentally purify them when you sealed them?"

"Absolutely certain." She was on the twenty fourth box already. Miroku didn't mention that it took him a tremendous amount of energy to purify a crystal at the twentieth level, and any higher he needed help. She finished opening the last box and none of them were even the least bit contaminated.

"There must be some mistake." Kagome said, "These all seem fine. Are you sure you put the right crystals out?"

"I would like to try something." He said looking absolutely serious.

"If it involves that hand moving any closer, then stop thinking."

"Now what makes you think my hand would be doing anything?" He laughed innocently. Kagome gave him a look that suggested he not try anything. "Come here." He said, heading over to a vault of some sort that had several seals drawn on it and was surrounded by a large seal and many sutras as well as a large bound scroll on each cardinal point. He opened the door as she advanced. At first it was almost like darkness was oozing out of the vault so powerfully that she could barely move. As she moved closer, however, it seemed to lessen. "Pick up the object inside the vault." Miroku said. He looked to be struggling with the evil, even though it was sealed several times over. Kagome could see that every side of the inside of the safe also had a seal on it as did a pedestal in the center which held a spherical jewel which glowed with a menacing black light with flashes of dark purple. She reached out for the jewel which sparked as her hand neared, but once she touched it, the malevolent aura faded, instead replaced with the soft pink glow that the shards in the box had given off. Kagome collapsed panting. To just pick up such a small object drained her more than a school track meet. With that thought, she fell into unconsciousness.

* * *

"I knew you were dense, Monk, but this was just stupid. What are we going to tell Kaede?" Inuyasha growled.

"We will tell her that we need to contaminate another jewel." the monk replied simply.

Meanwhile, Sango was tending to Kagome. "She seems to be okay, just exhausted." She said.

"Do you have any idea what it took to make that thing in the first place?"

"No idea." The monk said, "Unlike you, I haven't been in this agency for fifty years."

"You should think before you act."

"Say's the pot." The monk replied.

"What's that supposed to mean."

"It means you're the kettle." Sango said, catching on to the saying long before the half demon that still didn't get it, even though he knew they were insulting him. The arguing continued for several minutes until Kagome muttering in her sleep ended Inuyasha's side of it with a sit.

"Where is the jewel?" Kaede demanded. She had been waiting to see what ranking Kagome would be given, and had grown concerned when she had not finished. Now she was concerned for the safety of all the people on the entire complex. The jewel had been a byproduct of the original Youkai Project and its creation had lead to the deaths of hundreds of soldiers as people had been overwhelmed with the evil it contained. It had become useful for when other things had need of being contaminated, like with the shards for the spiritual powers test, but it was the most dangerous uncontrollable element in the base. A single touch of the jewel could cause a human to transform into an unspeakable horror. They had learned this the hard way when a lab technician named Onigumo had grasped the jewel and lead the revolt that had released demons into an unprotected world.

"Fear not." Miroku said, "The jewel is no threat." He pried the object in question out of the sleeping Kagome's hand. "She has the most powerful purification powers I have ever seen."

* * *

Kagome woke up with a throbbing headache. She was still dressed and in a strange bed in an unfamiliar room. A nearby alarm clock, that appeared to have been severely abused, registered the time of one o'clock in the morning. With her awakening, two fuzzy little triangles peeking up over the edge of the bed twitched. Across the room was another bed, or at least what appeared to have once been a bed. The claw marks and shattered frame made it difficult to recognize.

"You woke up." Inuyasha said, sitting up from his position of sleeping against the side of the bed.

"Sorry." Kagome said, "This is your bed isn't it."

"Feh." Inuyasha brushed off her apology. "I've slept in worse places."

"What am I doing here?"

"They thought you would be an acceptable replacement for my roommate. It's been years since they tried that."

"I see." Kagome said glancing towards the other bed. She guessed that his room mates did not usually last very long. "This wouldn't happen to have anything to do with that little necklace you're wearing?"

"Like I'm supposed to know what they're thinking." Inuyasha yawned. Suddenly, Kagome's stomach rumbled quite loudly. Inuyasha's head turned and one eye looked at her.

"I guess I am a bit hungry." Kagome said, "I haven't eaten since yesterday morning."

"If you are looking for a good nutritious meal, there's a WacDonald's about five kilometers from the base, otherwise you'll have to make do with what they serve at the cafeteria."

"The cafeteria is fine..." Kagome said. Inuyasha nodded and stood up, stretching his entire body and cracking his neck and knuckles.

"Let's go."

* * *

Kagome looked at the plastic tray, regretting the fact that she had not accepted Inuyasha's suggestion of a restaurant. There was some mushy gray and green stuff with chunks that might have been meat, and some dry mashed potatoes that had probably been sitting under a heat lamp longer then they had spent growing in a field. She poked the food with her fork suspiciously.

"I warned you." Inuyasha said, furiously mixing the two into one big grayish mass in the middle of his own tray before he started shoveling it into his mouth. Kagome went a little more conservatively, tasting the two substances separately before discovering that Inuyasha's method was the only way to make it even slightly edible. "There's always food because missions go off at any time, and a lot of people fight better on a full stomach, but they don't make anything good except at actual meal times."

"I'll remember that." Kagome said, choking down the food, hoping that the memory of its taste wouldn't be from the food making any reappearance later. "Is there anywhere I can take a shower?" She asked, deciding that she'd eaten enough.

"My card won't get me into the women's washrooms... anymore... but if you're desperate you can use the men's"

"No thanks." Kagome said, "What do you mean by anymore?"

"Washrooms didn't used to have any security, until Miroku decided to investigate the women's showers. He's never looked so happy to get beaten up by a bunch of girls."

"It was worth it." The monk said sitting down next to Kagome. "There is no vision lovelier than a beautiful woman, except many beautiful women." A loud slap rang out, echoing through the almost deserted cafeteria. Miroku's hand left Kagome's posterior and went to his swollen red cheek.

"So what did you do this time?" Inuyasha smirked.

"What do you mean?" Miroku asked innocently.

"I mean, why are you here, instead of groping your precious Sango?"

"Wait, you and Sango?" Kagome interjected.

"Of course, she cannot resist my charms." Miroku said, "It's only right that I do what I must to make her happy."

"Then why haven't you married her yet?" Inuyasha asked.

"It's against my religion."

"Since when is lechery a religion?"

The discussion of Miroku's love life continued, with the help of the watered down swill that passed for beer in the cafeteria. Kagome abstained, having had enough of the cafeteria's offerings for one night.

* * *

"So, the idiot fills my room with saimyosho." Inuyasha said, "So they temporarily room me with the pervert while they get rid of the damn bugs." He grinned goofily, "It only took one night with me to convince him that he needed out and then the next day he pronounced his undying love of Sango. He even promised that he would stop being such a lecher." Inuyasha laughed, "Like that'd ever happen. Everyone knew it was bull, but for some stupid reason, Sango accepted him."

Kagome, had heard more than enough stories about Miroku's lechery for one night, and decided that Inuyasha had had enough to drink. His words were quite slurred, and he was beginning to look quite wobbly. Besides, he was also looking quite tired, unlike her, she was pretty sure that he had not fallen asleep in the middle of the day. Miroku had passed out long ago, and Inuyasha hadn't even noticed.

"I think it's time for bed." Kagome suggested. She was tired as well, despite the fact that she had already had the equivalent of a full night's sleep. Inuyasha nodded and stood up unsteadily, tripping over the bench and falling backwards onto the floor.

"I'm okay." He said hastily getting up again. Kagome decided to help him back to the room, knowing he would probably not make it on his own. She helped him up and had him lean on her for support. Glancing at Miroku, she decided that he would be fine right where he was. He was enough of a pervert when he was sober, and he had only gotten worse as he was drinking. He had gotten so bad, that Kagome had been forced to switch to Inuyasha's side of the table. As obnoxious and annoying as he was, at least he wasn't a pervert.

She led him back to his room. Luckily she had a better sense of direction than Inuyasha did. He attempted to enter half the doors on the way back, thinking they were the door to his room. Once they reached the right room, Kagome had been forced to swipe the card for him because he had been unable to get it in the slot.

"Okay, now lay down." Kagome instructed him. Instead he sat down, leaning against the bed like he had when she had woken up.

"You take the bed." He insisted, "I'm good here." She didn't fight it; she would rather be the one to take the bed anyway. She lay down in the bed, but the two cute little dog ears poking up were distracting her.

'One more time won't hurt.' She thought to herself. She sat up and reached for the fuzzy triangles. Inuyasha's body stiffened for a moments her fingers cam into contact with his ears. Instead of protesting as her fingers began to rub his ears, he began to purr loudly. "I thought you said you didn't like when people touched your ears."

"It feels good." He said, crawling up onto the bed and laying his head on her lap so she could reach better. "Don't stop." She continued to play with his ears for a few minutes. Soon, she realized that he was asleep. He was really cute like that, curled up on her lap, with a little satisfied smile on his face, purring contentedly. Now there was the problem of what to do with him. It would be a little awkward letting him sleep on her lap all night, but she didn't really want to wake him up. She decided to leave him there, at least for tonight.


	3. The Truth about Birds, Bees, and Inu

**AN:** Okay, wasnt planning to post this until I was done HoTW, but hey, It was already done, so it really didn't take any effort to post it now, and it lays out the final elements needed to grasp the basic idea of what is going to go on in this story.**

* * *

**

CH03: The Truth about Birds, Bees, and Inu-Youkai

* * *

Inuyasha reached over to attack the ringing alarm clock. His furious swipe missed. He growled softly. The damn alarm clock was in the wrong place. Before he could open his eyes to see what was wrong, his bed started to move under him. Startled, he leapt out of bed and got into an attack stance before he saw the girl and remembered most of the previous day's events. Kagome, however, remembered that night's events clearly and calmly turned the alarm off.

"Time for breakfast." He announced.

"No, I can't go out there like this, I need a shower first."

"I can..."

"Take me to Sango's room, I am sure she can get me into the shower, and maybe lend me some clean clothes too."

"Her clothes will never fit you; they are all skin tight and tailored to her body." He walked over to the dresser and began opening drawers. To Kagome's surprise, there was not one piece of male's clothing. "Take your pick." There wasn't really any choice. As far as Kagome could tell, all the clothes were the same, red and white priestess's garments. To say the top ones were a little dusty would have been a vast understatement.

"When was this drawer last opened?" Kagome asked, grabbing some garments from the middle of the pile.

"I dunno, almost fifty years ago." Inuyasha replied. It was a good thing that priestess fashion did not change very quickly.

Inuyasha dutifully led Kagome to Sango's room. Then in his usual manner began hammering on the door. "Yo! Open up, Sango!" After a few seconds, the door opened a crack and Sango's face appeared.

"What do you want?" She glared at the half-demon in irritation.

"Morning, Sango." Kagome greeted.

"Oh, morning Kagome." Sango said her foul demeanor dissipating, noticing the bundle of clothes in Kagome's hands. "Give me a minute, and I'll give you a tour of the women's facilities." The door closed for a moment and a minute later, Sango appeared wearing a bath robe and carrying a basket of supplies on top of a pair of folded towels. "Let's go." she said beckoning for Kagome to follow.

A short walk later, with Inuyasha shooed away, they arrived at a heavy steel door. "Wow, I knew that Miroku was a pervert, but this is like a vault." Kagome said admiring the fortifications.

"Oh, no, the door is for Inuyasha."

"But he isn't like that, is he?" Kagome asked, wondering if he might have been groping her while she slept.

"No, not intentionally, but he is a guy, and Miroku tricked him into thinking there was a demon hiding in there."

"So he is only as bright as he appears to be."

"You give him too much credit." Sango said as she opened the door. Kagome laughed and followed Sango in.

* * *

"That felt good." Kagome said, taking a seat next to Inuyasha in the cafeteria. Her tray was actually covered in real food, unlike the night before. There was toast and eggs and fruit juice, as well as some sausages for those more carnivorous like the half demon beside her.

"I know I am not as smart as I appear to be," Inuyasha said, shooting the two girls an angry glare, "but..."

"You heard that?" Kagome asked, looking embarrassed.

"These ears aren't for decoration." Inuyasha twitched the aforementioned appendages, "You should probably think of finishing your registration after breakfast. You'll probably have to be tested all over again because you didn't finish."

"You mean all the paper work I did... gone..." Kagome groaned.

* * *

The paperwork, luckily, popped back up completely filled, but the areas indicating her performance in weapons and spiritual ability were left conspicuously blank. Kagome did not mind this as much. The door immediately opened to show a boy that could not have been much older than her little brother. His garb was awfully similar to Sango's, but carried a scythe blade on a chain rather than a giant boomerang.

"You wouldn't happen to know Sango would you?" Kagome asked.

"She's my sister." He answered, "Actually most of the people from my village work here. You can tell who we are by our outfits; they are not all that common. My name's Kohaku."

"I'm Kagome."

"Well, let's get this over with." He handed her a bow.

"How did you know I use a bow?" Kagome asked, noting that he had given her a bow very much the same as the one she had used the previous day.

"Sorry, but I heard how you purified the defiled gem, so I assumed you would use a priestess' weapon."

"No need to apologize." Kagome said, "You were right." She began firing at the targets as they appeared. She was rather pleased with herself at the end. She had improved her score quite a bit. "Why don't you show me how good you are?" She asked.

"What should I use?" He replied.

"Whatever you are best at." He nodded setting the range to show ten targets, then throwing the scythe-like blade of his weapon at them and yanking it back in quick succession. His score ended up being slightly lower than Sango's but it was still much better than hers. "Wow, are all the people in your village this good?"

"Well, some are better." Kohaku replied, "But we don't have any spiritual abilities, so our combat abilities have to be the best."

Kagome traveled to the next room and found Kaede there. She had one box set out in the middle of the floor. It was the highest one from the previous day.

"This is merely a formality but please open the box." Kaede instructed. Kagome complied, and yesterday, there was only the faintest tinge of darkness as she was opening the box which would have gone completely unnoticed had Kaede not been watching for it. Despite what Kagome had done the previous day, Kaede was nevertheless surprised to see the girl's talents for herself. She had even switched the duty schedule around, trading places with the priestess Tsubaki. Even if she had not wanted to see Kagome's abilities for herself, she certainly didn't want Tsubaki's influence anywhere near the girl.

"Proceed to the next room." Kaede said.

The next room was small, very small. There was a set of footprints painted on the floor. Doing the obvious thing, Kagome stood on the footprints, and two seconds later was blinded by a flash. A few seconds later, two palm scanners came out, one from each side of her. A few seconds after placing her hands upon the scanners, she felt a prick on her palm before they disappeared back into the wall. A headset came down and placed itself in front of her eyes. There were some moving lights and then the headset disappeared into the ceiling and the door opened, revealing a room with a medical table and a doctor and a nurse in matching white clothes. They methodically gave her a full physical before sending her on to the next room.

"Hi." A cute little girl said from behind a desk. "I'm Rin."

"Aren't you a little young to work here?" Kagome asked as the girl typed various things into the computer.

"Yeah, but I'm not here to fight, I'm here to spy for lord Sesshomaru."

"Wouldn't spying require a little more stealth?"

"Not when everyone already knows. Lord Sesshomaru used to work here, but stopped a long time ago because he likes to do his own thing. He saved me from a demon attack one day, and I've been doing my best to help him ever since." There were some odd noises, a whirring and a sucking sound followed by a crunch. When the noise stopped, a card popped out of a slot in the desk. "There you go, all done." The girl smiled.

"Thanks." Kagome took the card from the girl. It was thicker and heavier than her ATM card, though it did have a magnetic strip on it. On the front was her picture along with some of her basic information and a bar code.

"Why don't you try it out? There's a console just outside the door it will tell you where you can go and stuff." Suddenly, Kagome heard a slight buzzing noise and felt the card begin vibrating. This startled her so much that she dropped the card.

"Someone is paging you." Rin explained, "Just swipe the card in the console outside and check for messages."

* * *

Kagome examined the controls. There were several options: Schedule, navigation, message system, user information... She selected the message system. There was a note from SysAdmin that she was to report to briefing room 32c. After that was about fifty messages from Inuyasha which all said 'Hurry up, wench."

At the bottom of the message were options: Delete, text reply, audio reply, and a grayed out button labeled chat. Kagome decided to try the audio reply, she clicked the button and another window appeared with time indicator showing how long the recording had gone. "Sit boy." She said before clicking the finish button.

Next she went into the navigation portion. At the top of the list, briefing room 32c was flashing. She selected it and noted the directions before removing her card from the slot and heading in the direction of the room.

* * *

When the door opened, she heard a loud crash, followed by the words played back in her own voice "Sit boy!" This lead to another crash and another replay of the message. Miroku was in front of a console repeatedly hitting the play button while Inuyasha constantly tried to get up, begging for mercy in between threats of maiming and dismemberment. Miroku seemed to be enjoying himself. Kagome, however, thought this was a slight misuse of the message and yanked Inuyasha's card out of the slot.

"You know, if you had not sent me so many messages, you'd feel a lot better right now." Kagome said as she helped him up. "I think I'll only sit you... oops sorry… in person from now on."

"That makes me feel so much better." Inuyasha growled from his position on the floor.

"Please sit down." An obscured voice said as the silhouette of a man appeared on a screen that had appeared on the wall. "It had been decided that you four shall compose a new team which shall be known as team alpha one. You are each unrivaled in your expertise in your specialty. Kagome's spiritual power is unrivaled in power, Miroku's seals and sutras are quite powerful and diverse, no one can match Sango's expertise with weapons, and Inuyasha's demon strength makes him a powerful fighter. Before, some of you were used to working alone, or being called upon to work with any group that needed your help, but that is no longer the case. You are the ones who will be called upon to handle the most difficult missions, and the rest of your time will be spent training and furthering your education. Are there any questions?" When no one volunteered any questions, the screen went black and the wall closed over it.

"I guess it is a good thing that most of us got off on the right foot." Kagome said, "Since it sounds like we will be spending a lot of time together."

"Actually, this isn't the first time they have tried this." Sango said, "But the teams never last long."

"Who was that anyway?"

"No one really knows, but rumor has it that he is the director of the facility, but no one has ever seen his face. It's said that he has been here since the original project Youkai that started seventy-five years ago." Miroku explained.

"He didn't sound that old." Kagome said, "Wait, seventy five years! But demons didn't start appearing until fifty years ago..."

"He's older than I am." Inuyasha said, "And I have been here for over fifty years." Inuyasha said, "So I bet he's got some demon blood in him too."

"So he's like you?" Kagome asked, getting more confused.

"Hell, no!" Inuyasha replied smugly, "I'm unique."

* * *

"What do you mean it will be two weeks?!" Kagome asked the resource assignment officer. Most of her essentials had been easy to acquire. There was no shortage of clothes and toiletries and manuals, but beds just weren't available.

"What's the big deal, it's just a bed."

"Says the guy who broke into the womens' washroom, and now gets a beautiful girl in his bed for two weeks."

"First: that wasn't my fault and if it's that big a deal to you, I'll just sleep on the floor again."

"But I can't let you do that." Kagome said, already feeling guilty that he had slept on the cold hard floor for most of the previous night because of her.

"Well, you could sleep with Sango; I'm sure Miroku wouldn't mind the extra company."

"Sit boy!"

"Damn wench, you feel guilty about having me sleep on the floor but you make me spend the rest of the day there anyway!" That wasn't the correct response. After several more sit commands, the resource assignment officer decided to add floor tiles to the list of materials to order.

* * *

Kagome's next stop was to sign up for training courses. Japanese, math and a sciences course were required, just as in high school, but the elective courses were much more diverse: Hand to hand combat, archery, ballistics, artillery, demon biology, herbs and their effects, field medicine, sutras and sealing, purification and banishment, etc... As she looked through the list she had to choose seven elective courses, many of which were marked out on the screen based on the computers assessment of her talents. Purification and archery were flagged extremely high priority, essentially telling her that she had no option but to choose them. She also took the herbs and field medicine courses because they were flagged fairly important and were taught by Kaede. She asked her friends which courses she should take for her last three.

Sango suggested physical education, and hand to hand combat to improve her effectiveness on the battlefield as well as demon biology so she would know the weaknesses of her opponents.

Miroku suggested that she take whatever she thought would be easy, but to avoid sutras and sealing because her purification abilities would make the course redundant as she could purify anything instead of sealing it. Since he was also on her team, and was an expert on the subject, he could walk her through any seals and provide her with any sutras should their target not be the destruction of a demon.

Inuyasha suggested home economics because he was tired of they crap they had in the cafeteria in the off hours. This suggestion earned him a sit, more for a comment about a woman's proper place that he had decided to spew after the suggestion.

Kagome eventually decided upon the last three courses: Physical education, because this job would require her to remain in shape, and she wanted to look good too; demon biology, because it would help her to learn more about demons, and Inuyasha; and finally home economics, because she agreed with Inuyasha about the off-hours food and it would give her access to the kitchen.

When she reviewed her schedule, she found that classes were actually arranged in style that she was not accustomed to. Each class appeared once a week, but covered two different time periods, one morning and one afternoon. She was told that this was because missions, briefings and other work often interfered with classes and that many people did not even bother showing up to the courses that did not require physical participation because videos and notes for the courses could be accesses through the terminals. Sometimes, because classes were so large, more advanced participants were asked to look up the next days notes and stored video of an earlier edition of the lesson in order to assist the teacher in demonstrating skills to large groups, or even take charge of the class themselves should the teacher be called away on a mission. Not only that, but because of the archived materials, if you were deemed the most proficient in a course, you may take the teachers spot so that they can further their training by learning in a different class. It was all very fluid and uncommon for the normal bureaucracy that plagued most government agencies.

There was one of her classes, demon biology was scheduled that day, and Kagome decided it was a good idea to go to all her classes at least once instead of skipping most of them like her new friends did. Inuyasha, pointing out that he was actually enrolled in the same session, decided to tag along.

* * *

"Inu-youkai, or dog demons, are quite loyal, and thus unlikely to be met on the battlefield." The instructor shouted over the soldiers arrayed in the conference hall as Kagome tried to sneak in the door of the room. The instructor noticed the intrusion immediately, but ignored her and focused on Inuyasha. "Since Inuyasha has finally decided to grace the class with his presence, it is the perfect time to give a visual demonstration of a dog's capabilities. Inuyasha, you and the girl, report to the front of the room." Inuyasha didn't look too happy to be singled out. Kagome wished she hadn't been included in the teacher's example and shivered nervously as the class stared at her and Inuyasha standing before them.

"Now dog demons may not look like much, especially half demons like Inuyasha," This comment earned him an irritated growl, "but they are formidable fighters. If engaged in combat with one, you should remember to avoid their claws. Their claws are not the sharpest, but they are extremely hard and when combined with their immense strength, they can rip right through your body armor. "They only have two known weak points. The first is their nose. Their powerful sense of smell makes them excellent at tracking their prey and locating hidden objects. Their nose however can also be used to overpower the demon though strong scents, such as large amounts of smoke or blood which can either disorient, nauseate, or even cause the demon to lose consciousness." The instructor produced a small container, that when opened, caused Inuyasha to start gagging and covering his face with his sleeve. Kagome, however, could not smell anything. "Their other weakness is their ears." The instructor continued, putting the substance away, "This is not because of their powerful hearing." The instructor grabbed Inuyasha's ear, viciously wrenching it, sending an immense jolt of pain through the half demon's body, causing him to fall to his knees and cry out.

"Leave him alone!" Kagome said as she pushed the instructor away from the whimpering boy. "Are you okay?" She asked, rubbing the injured ear gently.

"This method is so effective at dealing with these creatures because the ears are one of the demon's arousal points which means that there is a large collection of nerve endings in them which can either induce sexual stimulation or immense pain." Kagome suddenly turned much redder. Inuyasha was no longer whimpering, but instead was purring. She suddenly realized what the purring meant, and her eyes darted down for a split second to check the bulge that had appeared in his pants. Now she knew why Inuyasha did not want people touching his ears. She had accidentally attempted some sort of dog demon mating ritual.

"So Inuyasha, why don't you tell us how an idiot like you landed a girl?" Kagome didn't wait for his response.

"Sit boy!" Kagome rushed out of the class, deciding that she would learn the lessons for that one on her own. Besides, the instructor was a real jerk.


	4. Enter Kouga Rival in Love

**CH04: Enter Kouga, Rival in Love**

Kagome had fallen asleep laying on top of the covers, but she awoke under the covers. Her shoes had been removed, but other than that, she was still clothed as she had been. Inuyasha was sitting on the other end of the bed, leaning against the wall. His golden eyes were watching her. He immediately looked away when he noticed that she was awake.

"You don't seem like the kind of person to just sit there and take abuse." She muttered a quick apology as Inuyasha was slammed against the bed.

"I didn't have a choice. After the escape fifty years ago they began to take precautions. I was lucky enough to be the first one to receive the new treatment." He parted his hair and pointed to a small lump on his spine at the base of his skull. "The teachers, and higher officers, all have the ability to trigger it. Mine usually just hurts like hell and paralyzes me for a few moments. If I really piss them off..."

"Have you tried taking it out?"

"Of course I did, the first time one of those bastards used it, but any tampering just sets it off."

Both their cards began vibrating, interrupting their conversation. They headed to the hall and checked at the terminal. They were to report to the briefing room for a mission.

* * *

"The word around the base is that Inuyasha finally got himself a girl." Miroku said with a lecherous grin as they entered. "Oh what could you to possibly be up to, alone together, in a room with only one bed."

"Shut up!" Inuyasha growled pounding the monks head vigorously.

"I didn't know what I was doing. It was an accident." Kagome explained, "There's nothing going on."

"Feel free to have an accident with me any time." This time Sango smacked him, ignoring his as he lay on the floor feigning unconsciousness, knowing it was just another ploy to grope her.

Kaede arrived, carrying a manila folder.

"Sit down." She instructed. They all complied. "A demon has been attacking a small town near the mountains. The wolves were sent to handle it, but they have yet to return. We fear that they have been killed. Ye shall find the demon and slay it. Also ye are to determine if the wolves still live. Deal with them appropriately if they be alive, else ye shall destroy them. Have ye any questions?" Kaede waited for a moment, "Ye shall leave immediately."

* * *

Inuyasha's main weapon was his claws. Miroku had his sutras. Sango carried her own unique weapons everywhere she went. They had to detour to the armory solely for her benefit. Sango suggested that she choose a bow she liked and maintain it herself. It would be much easier if she did not have to get used to a new one every time. Kagome selected a bow much like the one that she had used for her testing and a quiver of plain wooden arrows. There of course were other arrows, from plain steel shafts, to ones that split into multiple projectiles, and even some with exploding heads. Kagome, however, was unsure about how the differences in weight and material would affect her spiritual powers, deciding instead to stick with what had worked for her before, plain old wooden arrows.

Afterwards they headed off to a section of the base that Kagome had not seen before. It was a large hanger filled with several helicopters. Half were black, and the other half painted with a green and brown camouflage patterned. A pilot was there waiting for them.

"Why don't we just drive?" Kagome asked. She had never flown before, and had reservations about boarding anything that did not have a pair of wings.

"This is faster." Inuyasha replied.

"We only use ground vehicles when transporting things that are too dangerous to be allowed to escape, like uncontrolled demons." Sango explained, "If there was an accident in a helicopter, anything transported would likely escape in the crash and it's guards would be in no shape to stop it, and likely die."

"Don't worry, it's just a security measure, all of our equipment is in excellent condition." Miroku assured her tapping the side of one of the machines with his staff. This jiggled loose a screw and a piece of armored plating fell from it. "Except this one, which we purchased second hand from Canada." The monk grinned nervously.

* * *

The flight proceeded without incident. As soon as they had exited the chopper, it took off.

"Where's it going?" Kagome asked, "How are we supposed to get back home?"

"We'll call for a chopper or a taxi or something if we survive." Inuyasha said, clearly unconcerned.

"So where is this demon?"

"Don't know. It didn't have a tracker, so that means it was one of the original escaped demon, or a demon's offspring."

Inuyasha got on his hands and knees and began to sniff around. "This way."

"You found the demon?" Kagome asked.

"No, but there's lots of blood, wolf blood." Inuyasha raced off.

Kagome, Miroku and Sango followed close behind, though they slowly lost ground to the half demons superior speed. Ahead of them Inuyasha stopped. When they caught up, they found out why. Before them was a field. Hundreds of wolves and humanoid demons wearing fur who had wolf tails were strewn about. They had been brutally massacred and dismembered. Each was full of deep cuts.

"They didn't even touch whoever did this. All the blood is wolf blood."

"Don't count us out yet!" A disembodied head growled as it and it's comrades reassembled themselves.

"What the hell is going on?" Inuyasha cursed as wolf limbs began to fly at him in an attempt to rip him limb from limb.

"Hiraikotsu!" Sango's boomerang had no effect. Some of the dead wolves attempted to attack her, but Miroku placed himself in front of her and formed a barrier.

"Where's the demon that's doing this?"

"Show yourself demon!" Inuyasha called as he further mangled the attacking corpses with his claws.

"If you insist." A woman's voice laughed. "Dance of blades!"

"Watch out!" A brown blur grabbed Kagome just before blades of wind came ripping through the trees.

"Kouga?" He had been in one of the pictures that they were shown before the mission.

"You should be safe here." He said.

"What about Inuyasha and the others?"

"Mutt-boy can die for all I care." Kouga replied, "Besides, it's too dangerous to go back. I never even saw the witch before most of my pack was dead pack was dead."

"Even if you are not brave enough to face the demon, I have to go help Inuyasha." Kagome said.

"I can't allow that." Kouga said, "What kind of man would I be if I let my mate go into danger?"

"Mate?"

"That's right, you're my woman now."

"Like hell she is!" Inuyasha interrupted.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome inched towards the much more familiar canine, more surprised by Inuyasha's protective growl than by Kouga's claims.

"I have to agree." A woman's voice laughed on the wind. "You will all die before you have a chance to make good on your claim.

"Blades of blood!" Inuyasha slashed in the general direction of the voice, slicing branches from the trees in the process.

"That was pitiful." The wind whirled around the tree of them, carrying the voice with it. "Dance of the dragon!" Whirlwinds gouged trenches in the ground around them. Inuyasha used his own body to shield Kagome.

"Keep my woman safe for me!" Kouga ordered as he used Inuyasha's head as a step as he leapt into the air towards the woman who was sitting on a giant floating feather. Inuyasha growled, but continues to shield Kagome from the attack.

"Dance of the dead!" Kagura brought forth Kouga's slain comrades who grabbed him before he could finish his attack. They slammed him into the ground. Several pinned him down while others started punching and kicking the helpless wolf.

"Kouga!"

"We'll save you!" Two other wolves appeared from hiding to protect their leader, but were quickly driven back by the undead army. Inuyasha had his own share of wolf corpses to deal with.

Suddenly, the barrage of bodies stopped as the Woman fell screaming in pain. She landed face down on the ground with a sutra on her back. It had burned a hole in her clothing, revealing a spider shaped scar. Miroku and Sango came from the woods. Sango stood with her Hiraikotsu ready as Miroku approaches the demon's body to ensure that it was disabled. At the last second, when Miroku was too close for Sango to let fly her weapon, the woman rolled over and pointed her closed fan at the monk's face.

"Blasted monk!" The woman cursed. Miroku raised his right hand to protect his face as a beam of light shot from the fan. The woman laughed at the pained expression on Miroku's face. "Enjoy this gift monk. You fought Kagura of the wind, and now the wind will be a part of you. It will devour everything you care about until the day that it kills you." Kagura plucked a feather out of her hair and it grew to a large size. With one more blast of wind, Kagura flew into the air and off into the distance.

"Miroku! Are you okay?" Sango asked.

"No!" The monk warned, "Stay back!" A slight wind began to build up. Instead of passing in a single direction as wind normally would, this wind swirled around Miroku as if being drawn into the wound on his hand.

"What's happening to you?"

"Keep away from me!"

"Look at the leaves!" Kagome pointed out. Indeed, leaves, and dirt and other debris were scuttling along the ground and into the vortex.

"Stay close to me. I'll protect you." Kouga said, pulling her from Inuyasha who was standing between her and the vortex.

"Like hell you will!" Inuyasha warned with a growl.

"She's my woman! I'll protect her."

"I don't smell your mark on her, but she better not stand so near you, or she'll begin to stink like a mangy wolf."

"Better than smelling like a mutt." Kouga countered, though his rebuff did not have the effect it should have as he began to slide away from both Kagome and Inuyasha. "What the hell!" He cursed as he clawed his way out of range of Miroku's current predicament that had been forgotten by the two canines during their arguments.

The hole was now a visible black dot on Miroku's hand. It was still growing, in both size and power. After a bit of experimentation, with his friend well back from him, Miroku managed to create a seal to stop the curse from spreading or sucking anything in, temporarily.

"We'd better return to headquarters. I don't think this seal will hold for long. I will need help from someone with more experience to completely seal this hand. "Sango... If I don't make it..." He looked at her with glassy eyes for a moment as if about to cry. Sango slapped him, leaving a bright red mark on his cheek.

"That hand was cursed long before that witch did anything to it."

* * *

The entire team, and the three surviving wolves were picked up by an unmarked black helicopter. Inuyasha sat alone in the back, as far from the noise of the main rotor as he could get. Kagome sat near the middle. Kouga sat opposite her, giving her lewd looks that reminded her of the monk who lay on the floor, milking Sango's concern for all it was worth.

"Hey, sis!" One of the surviving wolves sat next to her.

A slight warning growl erupted simultaneously from two canine throats as the other wolf sat on her other side.

"I'm Hakaku." He introduced himself.

"And I'm Ginta." The other continued. If not for their obvious physical dissimilarity, one would think that they were twins by their actions.

"What do you mean, sis?" Kagome asked warily.

"You're Kouga's woman now. That makes us family."

"One big happy pack."

"I didn't agree to that."

"And she never will!" Inuyasha said, glaring at the wolves and bearing his fangs. "Besides, what will Ayame think?" He asked with a smirk.

"You mean he's hitting on me, and he already has a girlfriend?" Kagome asked.

"Not girlfriend, fiancée." Inuyasha explained.

"That's not true!" Kouga insisted.

"Maybe you should stop going around promising to mate with girls. You're almost as bad as the monk."

"I never proposed to her." Kouga said, "It's all in her head."

"And there's nothing in yours, you mangy wolf."

"It doesn't matter what either of you think. I don't belong to anyone!."

* * *

"So, your entire pack was slaughtered?"

"Yes, Sir! And when I see that wind bitch again, I'll tear her apart!" Kouga growled.

"You'll have to be reassigned then."

"I can take her myself."

"No, as was seen today, you just don't have the power needed to take such a high caliber demon. You'll have to be assigned to another squad. Perhaps, Inuyasha's team. You have already become familiar with them."

"No way I'm joining any team where that half-mutt it the leader!" Kouga cursed.

"Just because he has seniority, does not mean he's the leader..."

* * *

"Hmm..." Moushin inspected the cursed hole. "Hmmn..." His humming was almost rhythmic.

"So, is there any way to seal the curse?" Sango asked.

"Patience, my dear Sango, this is obviously a very powerful curse, it cannot be taken lightly."

"Hmm... Hmm..."

"Master Moushin?"

"Hmm..."

"I think he's asleep." Sango observed.

"Wake up old man!" Miroku gave the elder monk a good smack to wake him.

"Huh?... I could do wit some sake."

"That's probably what knocked you out in the first place." Miroku said irritably. "What about the curse in my hand?"

"Sango will kill you long before that truly becomes a problem."

"The other curse..."

"As I see it, the hole will grow and become more powerful. Eventually it will swallow you up. You should refrain from using it if possible, even though this curse could be used as quite a formidable weapon. That should slow down its progress."

"I see..." Miroku said, "How long do I have?"

"As I said, Sango will probably kill you before this does. Unless it was damaged, you could live a good five or ten more years even if you used it constantly. Maybe ever thirty or more years if you kept it sealed."

"I see."

* * *

"What! That damn wolf is joining us? Isn't one pervert per team enough?" Inuyasha grumbled as the base commander explained his decision.

"You are going to need more power if you want to defeat other demons of Kagura's caliber." The commander stated, "Until other arrangements have been finalized, this is my decision."

Inuyasha cursed. He was so weak that the boss thought he needed help from a stupid wolf. He'd soon see who the strong one was. Inuyasha chuckled sneakily as he thought of a way to show everyone how strong he really was.


	5. Sword of my Father's Fang

**CH5:Tetsusaiga, Sword of my Father's Fang**

* * *

"Inuyasha, stop pacing, it's annoying." Kagome said.

"Just go to sleep already." Inuyasha said.

"Why? Do you have something to do that you don't want me to know about?"

"No!" Inuyasha retorted, "I have nothing to hide."

"I'm coming to then."

"What the hell you stupid wench! I just said..."

"Sit!"

"Ow, what the hell was,"

"Sit!"

"Damn it, you..." Thinking better of being belligerent, he continued, "can come..."

"So, where are we going?" Kagome asked.

"What's it matter?"

"I have to know what to wear."

"Feh... Just wear what you're wearing."

"I can't wear this! What if someone sees us?"

"Whatever. Just make sure you do what I say if you want to live through this."

"Is it that dangerous?" Kagome asked.

"Worse if we're caught."

"What? You sound like we're going to rob a bank or something."

"Who said anything about a bank?" Inuyasha said, as he turned and headed for the door. "I wouldn't be worried if it was just a bank."

Kagome suddenly felt like she had just forced herself into something that she wasn't sure she was ready for. Inuyasha was always so confident of his abilities. He wouldn't even blink if a demon on the level of the one they had fought the previous day just popped out of nowhere, yet whatever they were going to do made him tense. "You're stealing from someone then... What could be so valuable that you'd risk your life to get it?"

"A sword."

"But you can just get one of those in the armory."

"Not like this one." Inuyasha said.

"Whose sword is it?" Kagome asked.

"My brother's." He replied grimly, "Sesshomaru has it now."

* * *

"Are you sure you want to come?" Inuyasha asked after he parked the military jeep within viewing distance of a large mansion. 

"I said I was coming." Kagome said. By the looks of things, Inuyasha had exaggerated the danger. There weren't even any guards that she could see, nor any defensive measures whatsoever. There wasn't even a gate. She mentioned this to Inuyasha.

"That's because no one is stupid enough to steal from this Sesshomaru." Inuyasha lay flat on his back while a regal looking demon stood over him. "Isn't that right, Inuyasha?" His eyes were cold and calculating and his movements were exceedingly graceful, but the familial resemblance was unmistakable. "I take it that this woman must be your chosen mate? Otherwise you would not have brought her to trespass upon my land."

"Of course not!" Inuyasha protested.

"Then she is but an inconvenience and a trespasser." Sesshomaru said, "In that case," His claws began to glow with demonic energy as they elongated into energy whips.

"Like hell you will!" Inuyasha slashed at his brother with his own claws. Sesshomaru dodged effortlessly.

"Your actions betray you." Sesshomaru grinned maliciously. He sent his whip at Inuyasha who could not avoid it. Even with the protection of Inuyasha's robe of the fire rat, the strike looked like it pained him.

"She's just a stupid wench who's on my team in the unit you were so gracious as to force me into."

"This Sesshomaru gave you such a gift that you should share in his power, yet you scorn it."

"What good is the power to fight when you can be defeated with the push of a button?"

"You're weak. It shames me to admit that we are siblings." Sesshomaru said coldly. He whipped at Inuyasha again. Inuyasha raised his arms to block the strike, but it curved around to strike him in the back of the neck where he received not only the blow but a powerful shock the device that was embedded there. He was flung forward where he landed face first at his brother's feet.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome rushed towards Inuyasha.

"Stay back!" Inuyasha growled as he tried to stand.

"Worthless." Sesshomaru said disdainfully. "You are not worth this Sesshomaru's time."

"Arrogant bastard!" Inuyasha growled as his brother flew from their sight in an orb of demonic power.

"Are you okay?" Kagome wiped the blood and dirt from Inuyasha's wound with her sleeve.

"I'll be fine. My body is more durable than yours. You should be careful though. Sesshomaru's claws are poisonous." Kagome helped Inuyasha to stand up. She led him back to the vehicle and extracted the first aid kit. She poured some of the generic anti-venom onto a cotton bandage and wrapped it around his neck, tightly enough to stop his bleeding while allowing him to continue to draw breath without difficulty. "Thanks." He said when she had finished.

"It was nothing." She replied.

Inuyasha turned so that he was facing Kagome. His eyes were glassy and distant. "It wasn't nothing." Suddenly, Kagome found his arms were wrapped around her and his head was leaning on her shoulder.

"Inuyasha..." Kagome was practically speechless as the half demon held her tightly against himself. She was surprised that he was acting so affectionate. His ear twitched. It tickled her cheek. Forgetting the effect it had for a moment, she touched the appendage to stop the ticklish assault it made on her cheek. "Ow! Sit boy!" He had just tried to bite her. She touched her neck. A small bead of blood rested where his fang had touched.

"What the hell did you do that for?" Inuyasha growled.

"You tried to bite me!"

"I did not..." He sniffed, "I didn't mean to do anything." He looked away in embarrassment. "If it wasn't for the stupid sit, It never would have broken the skin."

"What were you trying to do to me?" Kagome asked suspiciously. She suddenly began feeling extremely hot.

"Just something to keep other demons away from you. I don't want them paying attention to you when they should be fighting me."

"You were trying to mark me!" Kagome realized. The ear-rubbing incident had led to an extensive lecture on such things.

"I wasn't!"

"You should have asked me first!"

"I..."

"Sit boy!"

"But!"

"Sit boy!"

"Liste..."

"Sit boy! Sit boy! Sit boy!" Now Inuyasha lay in a crater that resembled the shape of his own body.

"Oww..."

"Wait... Was that your way of asking me out?" Kagome suddenly switched moods.

"Feh..." Inuyasha replied noncommittally. "Let's get the sword before Sesshomaru gets back.

"You haven't told me what's so special about this sword." Kagome said, "Why do you want it so badly."

"I don't know. I've never actually seen it used." Inuyasha admitted.

"So it could actually be just a rusted old piece of metal."

"No, not metal. It's a demon fang, from my father." Inuyasha explained, "Back then, the demonification process was less refined. He was among the first people to be volunteered for Project Youkai back when I was still a baby."

"Ahh, yes. I remember clearly. Your father was a great and powerful demon. Perhaps even the greatest of his generation." A small, yet wise voice interrupted. Inuyasha slapped his face and crushed a flea that had begun sucking his blood. "Oww," The flea groaned. "I on the other had did not receive the stature, nor durability that your father did. Ahh, such is the lot of a flea."

"A flea demon?" Kagome was surprised by the creature's minute size.

Inuyasha picked up the creature by the collar and glared suspiciously into the creature's eyes. "Who are you?"

"Master Inuyasha, surely you remember me."

"Nope."

"I used to babysit you when you were just a small child."

Inuyasha scratched his face where the flea had been. "I thought that was diaper rash." Inuyasha said.

"Come on, surely you have not forgotten Myoga the flea. I was the most loyal member of your father's squad."

"Now, I remember. Father once said that the only reason he still had any of his original squad was because you ran away at the slightest hint of danger."

"He did?" Myoga asked, "Surely you must have confused me with someone else. After all Myoga is a common name, isn't it?"

"No, not really." Kagome said, "Actually I don't think I've ever heard of a Myoga before."

"Me neither..." Inuyasha agreed.

"Well... anyway..." Myoga coughed as he quickly diverted the discussion away from his cowardice, "Your father was so great and powerful, that the very sky itself was cleaved asunder by his very presence. To have to see him in his pure demonic form meant certain death for his enemies, as well as anything that might get between them. He commissioned two swords to be made from his fangs that he might exercise his power without transforming."

"What did the sword do?"

"I don't know. I have never seen it used."

"You mean you ran away before he had a chance to use it."

"Of course not. I am not so cowardly. It is just that even in his more human form, Inuyasha's father rarely had to exert himself to complete the tasks set before him."

"So that still amounts to the same thing. You don't know what the sword does."

"Not true." Myoga said, taking up a sage-like position upon the back of Inuyasha's hand. "The great dog demon once told me that his fang had the power to slay one hundred demons with a single stroke." He looked quite pleased with himself.

"In other words, you don't know." Inuyasha squeezed the flea between his fingers causing the bug to squirm.

"Ow, ow, ow! Let me go!" Myoga complained until Inuyasha stopped tormenting him. "I should have known that you would be just as cruel as your brother." He scolded. "And to think, I was going to tell you where he keeps it." The diminutive demon turned away from Inuyasha and leapt onto Kagome's face and stuck his proboscis into her nose for a drink of blood. He received a sound slap for his efforts. "That was heavenly. Never have I tasted blood so sweet, yet with the faint tang of Inuyasha's own."

"What do you mean by that?" Kagome asked.

"I promise it is a high compliment. After all, I am a connoisseur of the sanguine."

"I meant, why do I taste like Inuyasha."

"You don't know?" Myoga seemed surprised, "Inuyasha should have explained when he mated you."

"I did not mate her!" Inuyasha argued, "I only marked her."

"Ahh." Myoga examined the mark on Kagome's neck, "The mark of intent. You sly dog." He said coyly.

"Mark of intent?" Kagome asked.

"It's a bit of a trick. It creates some of the effects of the mating mark, but it isn't permanent. Demons use it when they are courting a female. It makes the woman more susceptible to their charms, while making other demons think that you have already been mated."

"So this had nothing to do with danger, nor liking me, you just wanted to outdo Koga."

"Au contraire, it has everything to do with danger. A demon can sense his mate, so it is considered extremely rude to touch a demon's mate, because it is like you are touching him."

"Since when do demon's care about rudeness?"

"In the wild, a certain hierarchy has developed among the demons. Only the most mindless or most cruel of demons would even consider harming you before slaying another demon's mate."

"So, where's the sword?" Inuyasha demanded interrupting the conversation before it strayed into a less clinical description of demonic habits.

"Oh, that? That is far less interesting than..."

"The sword."

"Fine," Myoga said, slightly miffed by the fact that his story had been interrupted. "It's hanging on the wall of his study."

"It isn't locked up?"

"Why would Lord Sesshomaru need any security? No one has been stupid enough to venture upon even the farthest corners of his property without permission. Even among those that belong here, most tread carefully around Sesshomaru."

"If the sword is really so powerful, why doesn't he keep it with him?"

"He doesn't need it."

"Enough talking. He'll be back any minute. We have to grab the sword before he returns." Inuyasha picked Kagome up and then dashed towards the mansion before them. He was about to break down the door when it opened for them.

"Hi!" Rin was there. She waved enthusiastically. Inuyasha nearly tripped over his own feet.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"She told me that she was a spy for Sesshomaru..."

"But there's no way he would let a human live in his house."

Rin laughed. "Please don't break anything." She said before running off pretending to be an airplane as she swooped down the hall.

"That is one odd girl."

"Which way to the sword?"

"To the right."

"Okay."

"Your other right..." Inuyasha did an about face and went down another hall.

"Now up the stairs. Then through the double doors on the left."

"Whoa!" Kagome exclaimed. The entire room was built to impress, from the gold-gilded oak-paneled walls, to the diamond chandelier which stretched half the expanse of the massive study. The back wall was filled with a carved bookshelf that held immaculate yet ancient tomes. The heavy wooden desk in the center of the room was bare except for the golden writing surface and a long plume by an inkwell. To the left and right hung a pair of matching swords that did not appear be have any power, let alone any resilience considering the scratched and rusty blades.

The one on the left is Tenseiga, and the one on the right is Tetsusaiga." Myoga said.

"Hey! You're not supposed to be here!" An impish man said from the doorway. In fact, he was not just impish, he was an imp. He carried a staff with the shrunken heads of an old man and a woman. "Get out or else master Sesshomaru will make you wish you'd never been born."

"Perfect!" Inuyasha said as he gave the imp a feral grin. "I need someone..." He grabbed the Tetsusaiga from the wall, "to test my new sword on!"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you!" Rin said in a singsong voice as she raced into the room, trampling the impish man. She tugged on Inuyasha's sleeve so that he would bend down. "Master Sesshomaru doesn't like it when people touch his things." She whispered as if it were a great secret. "Jaken, why are you laying on the floor?"

"Impudent little... I don't know why my master puts up with..." He muttered some foul words under his breath before addressing the intruders. "You don't even deserve to be killed by my master. I shall vanquish you myself. Now behold the power of..." He was cut off as Rin raced out of the room, once again sending him to the floor.

"We should probably leave before your brother gets back." Myoga pointed out.

"Feh." Inuyasha attached the sword to his belt then exited the room, making sure to step on Jaken on the way out. Kagome followed.

Are you sure you should do this? If he finds out... He beat you really badly before; you couldn't even lay a finger on him."

"It'll be fine. He won't even know we were here until it's too late, and if he does show up, I'll kick his..."

"You'll kick what of this Sesshomaru?" He was casually leaning against the wall as they exited the mansion.

"I'll kick your mangy demon ass!" Inuyasha had already lost his composure and was brandishing his sword wildly.

"This Sesshomaru will not have a single hand... or foot, laid upon him by the like of you, Inuyasha." His eyes narrowed menacingly, though he made no other aggressive motions, making Inuyasha look all the more foolish for his overreactions.

"I'll lay something on you!" Inuyasha rushed madly at his brother and struck at the composed demon with all his might.

"Is that all?" Sesshomaru taunted as he caught the apparently useless blade. He wrested the Tetsusaiga from Inuyasha and threw it aside. "I would say that you are a more challenging opponent when you are not using that sword, but that would not be truthful of this Sesshomaru." He knocked Inuyasha down with an energy whip. "You are no challenge whether you wield the Tetsusaiga or not."

"You bastard!" Inuyasha growled. He leapt at his brother and slashed at him with his claws. Sesshomaru sidestepped the attack and caught Inuyasha by the neck. Sesshomaru's claws began to release poisonous vapors into the wounds his claws were making on Inuyasha's neck.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome's cry turned Sesshomaru's attention to her. He smiled and threw Inuyasha aside.

"So, it seems I was right, again..." Sesshomaru advanced on Kagome. "His scent is all over you." Kagome found his smile much more frightening than the malice he showed towards his brother. Sesshomaru grabbed her neck and twisted her head to the side. "As I thought, He was unable to do it properly. That is too bad. He will not feel your death as he would have had he marked you properly." His claws began leaking poison.

"Don't touch her!" Inuyasha yelled. He had picked up the Tetsusaiga and swung it angrily at his brother. Sesshomaru reached to grab the sword as he had before, but the sword transformed from the useless rusty blade it had been before into a magnificent white fang that sliced through his arm easily and severed it at the shoulder. Sesshomaru dropped Kagome and retreated to a safe distance.

"Very well Inuyasha. Take your bitch and go." Sesshomaru for the first time looked angry, "Live well, for the next time you see me, it shall be the last thing you see." Sesshomaru turned and walked into his mansion while clutching his shoulder.

"Are you all right Kagome?"

"I'm okay." She said hoarsely. She looked a little pale, but it seemed her spiritual powers had managed to purify the poison before it had caused any real damage. Inuyasha picked her up. "What about you? He got you much worse than he got me."

"My body can take a lot more than yours can. He might as well have pricked me with a needle." He said as he carried her back towards the vehicle.

"Thanks for saving me."


	6. Breach of the Impregnable

**

* * *

CH06: Breach of the Impregnable**

* * *

Kagome couldn't stop worrying about Inuyasha. She wasn't sure whether it was because he was her friend or because of what he had done. The almost-bite mark tingled.

"You should be watching the road." Kagome yawned. She had been affected by the mark for only a short time, and yet she had already learned of some of the effects it had. Not only did she feel a stronger concern for Inuyasha's injuries, but she could almost sense what he was doing.

"I wasn't looking at you."

"I never said you were." His denial all but confirmed her suspicions. She thought that the mark of intent might have effects on Inuyasha as well. Kagome shifted positions lightly in the seat to that she was partially facing Inuyasha. An almost inaudible groan escaped her as she moved her neck which had become stiff and was showing signs of bruising where Sesshomaru had grabbed her. The vehicle stopped.

"This is why you shouldn't have come." He said.

"Why not," Kagome asked, "If I hadn't come, he would have killed you."

"He could have killed you!"

"Well, we're both fine now, so let's just get..." Her words were stifled as Inuyasha threw himself on top of her. Moments later, the car rocked with the force of a powerful shock wave that accompanied the boom of a powerful explosion. Inuyasha lifted her out of her seat and leapt into the air as a tree crushed the spot they had just been occupied. "What was that?" Kagome asked.

"How the hell should I know?" Inuyasha gowled. His arm slashed through the air and Kagome felt warm fresh blood splatter across her back moments before the body of a demon crashed to the ground on either side of them, having been cleaved in two by Inuyasha's claws. Kagome looked up. She couldn't see the sky. Masses of demons covered the stars like fleshy honed clouds. "Arms around my neck, and hold on tight." She had barely acquiesced when she found herself thrown roughly around Inuyasha until she came to rest roughly on his back.

She could now see where they were going. The warning signs flashed by as Inuyasha leapt over the fence towards the base and drew his sword. It transformed immediately this time, and immediately slashed through an eight eyed worm that flew towards them with its toothy jaws.

"What about the defenses?" Kagome asked. It would do no good to race towards the safety of the base if they were fried by automated weapons before they got there.

"They won't be a problem." Inuyasha said, jerking his head as they passed a mangled heap of metal that had once been mounted on a concrete footing.

"Hiraikotsu!" The giant boomerang whizzed over their heads and slaughtered a hairy demon that had snuck up behind Kagome and Inuyasha. Its thrower was in turn defended by her little brother. "I'm relieved to see you are alright." Sango said as she impaled a demon upon a sword before catching her Hiraikotsu.

"What happened?" Kagome asked as she dropped from Inuyasha's back and picked up a bow who's owner lay in pieces upon the ground.

"We don't know. The alarms just sounded all of a sudden. It was a level 1 alert. Somehow demons had gotten into the most highly restricted sections of the based and attacked. We had no warning at all."

"Where's Miroku?"

"I lost him back at the entrance. There were demon's everywhere..."

"Something's happening!" A powerful wind whipped around them.

"Up in the sky!" Kagome shouted. The demons looked as if they were all being pulled towards a single point.

"Miroku's curse!" Sango realized, "He's using his wind tunnel to fight the demons.

"Won't that kill him?"

"That's what Master Mushin said... We have to stop him."

* * *

A shadowed figure walked through the plain white hallway on the lowest level of the base. He dressed conservatively and had long black hair, and little else could be seen to distinguish him. He stopped at a set of doors and swiped his card. A wind blew through the hall and Kagura appeared next to the man along with a small albino girl.

"Come," He commanded gently, but with an air of unquestionable authority, "They should be ready." He stepped through the door, flanked by his associates.

Screams of pain and rage echoed around the room. Two men lay on lab tables hooked up to machines that were hideously warping their bodies with a sinister black aura. Doctors stood near the two screaming subjects, making notes and adjusting machine levels. In a cylindrical container, the Shikon jewel floated in a bloody solution. As more blood drained from the subjects into the container, the jewel became darker and darker and letting that darkness seep out through the machines into the subjects, a horrible circle of desecration and mutation. The man smiled as he observed the cruel fates of the test subjects.

"Kill them." He said.

"As you wish, Naraku." Kagura said. She slaughtered the scientists whose last visions were of her wind blades as they turned to see who had entered. One blade pierced the tank containing the crystal, letting the liquid pour out. A dark miasma spread over the room and the two subjects were enveloped while the three intruders stood protected under a shield of demonic energy. The flow stopped for a moment as the jewel got caught in the crack and stemmed the flow. This did not last long. The compromised structure of the tank could no longer bear the pressure of the liquid and shattered. The jewel bounced three times on the tiled floor then rolled to a stop at Naraku's feet. With a gentle gesture of his hand, Naraku caused the jewel to rise until it floated in front of him and he plucked it delicately from the air.

Naraku looked at the two demons strapped to the table before him. They still cried out in pain. The staps that held them down showed the marking of sacred sutras as did the surface of the lab table. Naraku touched the seals and they blackened from the immensity of his demonic aura.

"Go and kill." Naraku said. The two subjects were more than happy to comply. Almost immediately, the alarms began to sound.

* * *

Miroku slept, as usual, with his arms wrapped tightly around Sango with a lecherous grin on his face. His contentment was rudely interrupted as sirens began to blare. "Demons..." The loudspeakers distributed throughout the base blared, followed by a horrible crunching of bone and flesh in the jaws of the unseen enemies.

"Com is on the lowest level." Sango said nervously.

"It's probably just an escapee from the lab."

"You know what the security is like down there. If they are down there, they got through the entire base undetected." She was already half finished putting on her armor. She stood next to her Hiraikotsu and watched the door while she changed. Miroku grabbed his staff and sutras. He didn't bother changing. The alarms stopped.

"See..." Miroku said, relaxing. He nearly jumped out of his skin when Sango threw her Hiraikotsu at him, sending it smashing through the door. Blood sprayed from the hole and sprayed Miroku's face. It smelled putrid like rotting flesh.

"This is only the beginning." Sango kicked down the door. The hall was empty except for a corpse which lay rotting at their entrance. "A crow demon." The corpse had a hole where its heart should have been. "They travel in flocks." They traveled along the hallway alert for any dangers, but there was no sign of any other demons, except for the ones that worked there. Everyone else was in a panic as they rushed out of their rooms half-prepared for battle. A series of explosions rocked the building.

"That came from the surface." Miroku said.

"Then that's where we're going." Sango said as she raced off. Miroku followed close behind her. Another explosion; This one was right in front of them. Several people were torn apart by the blast. The gigantic maw of a worm lord filled the hall. It pushed itself through the hallway, swallowing everything in its path. "Hiraikotsu!" The demon's rock hard skin deflected Sango's weapon back at her. She was knocked unconscious. Now, Miroku noticed that some of the soldiers were not acting as they should.

"The rest of the crows." He cursed as he prepared to defend from both sides at once. He rapidly threw down some sutras and created the most powerful barrier he could without time to prepare and was immediately beset by the surrounding demons.

Maintaining the barrier against the crows was almost effortless. They had not been strong enough to take over any of the demons soldiers, and were not intelligent enough to use any of the arsenal available in the base more complicated than a sword or club. The worm on the other hand rattled the barrier with every attempt to smash through. It had been only a minute and he was already exhausted. If Sango did not awaken soon, he would have to resort to drastic measures. He looked uncomfortably at his hand. Underneath the prayer beads that sealed it was a devastating hole which should be easily able to suck the worm into its maw, but it came at the price of risking it sucking him in as well as his beloved Sango. The worm smashed against the barrier. This time, Miroku almost lost it. A sword held by one of the raven possessed men had pierced through the barrier and had been millimeters away from cutting him before the barrier had regained its strength and rejected the weapon. He grasped the prayer beads and prepared to unleash his wind tunnel, in hopes that it would save them.

"Wait!" Sango urged. She had just regained conciousness. "It's too dangerous." She got to her feet.

"I can't hold the barrier if the worm strikes again." Miroku said.

"Then let it go... Now!" Sango launched her boomerang in the direction of the crows and then leapt onto the snout of the worm, drawing her sword mid-air, and plunging it into the worm's eye as she landed. There was a sickening squelch as Sango tumbled from her precarious perch, pulling the sword out.

The worm writhed in pain as blood fountained from the injured eye and created a slick pool that expanded down the hallway. Miroku grabbed Sango and pulled her out of the way of the worm's thrashing.

"That won't slow it down for long." Miroku pointed out. The worm was already beginning to calm down.

"Are you stupid or something? Pay attention!"

"Koga?" They turned just in time to see him slam into a raven possessed corpse that had survived.

"Whoa!" His feet skidded on the blood-slicked floor and both he and the crow went flying into the worm's open mouth. The worm's mandibles crashed down upon the two bodies. The worm shuddered for a few seconds then lay still. Koga climbed out of the demon's jaws unharmed.

"Damn that scent is disgusting." Koga grimaced. He tried to wipe himself off, but only managed to smear the liquids. "Worm spit and blood. I'm going to smell like this thing for days."

"How did you...?" Miroku and Sango were surprised to see the ease with which Koga had survived and slain the demon.

"Once you get past the pointy bits, even the hardest demon has squishy bits that don't like being punched." He struck a gallant pose but was ignored. "Let's go, we have to stop more demons from getting in." He added less enthusiastically. They fought their way through various demons and headed towards the surface. They couldn't believe the massive amounts of demons that covered the area. It was if the sky had been transmuted into the aggressive creatures. They were attacking not only the base but also eachother.

"Watch out!" Miroku pushed Sango out of the way just in time to avoid being hit by a blast of demonic energy. The resulting explosion was right in the middle of the three and blew them in opposite directions where they were beset by demons.

Miroku tried to get to his wife, but was instead driven back into the entrance of the base and lost sight of her.

"Enjoying my gift, Monk?" The hordes of Demons backed off at the sound of Kagura's voice.

Miroku glared angrily at the wind demon. "It's only right that I give you something in return." He said, "How about some sacred sutras." He threw some Sutras at Kagura, but an albino girl stepped in front and held up a mirror. When the sutras hit the mirror, they were redirected back towards Miroku, but because he had no demonic energy, they did him no harm.

"Good work, Kanna." The little girl said nothing, but stared vacantly at Miroku. "Now why don't you take his soul so that I can make him kill his beloved Sango."

This time the girl responded. "The sutras protect his soul. I cannot take it."

"Then I'll kill him the old fashioned way. Dance of blades!" Miroku barely manage to avoid the attack. "Or even better, go take the girl's soul. She can fight him for us." Kanna nodded and headed towards where Sango was fighting.

Miroku could see Inuyasha and Kagome arrive at Sango's side, but this little girl's powers sounded dangerous. How could they possibly protect themselves from having their souls stolen. That only left one option.

"Stop!" He removed the prayer beads from his wind tunnel.

"That will not work." The little girl said, turning back to face him.

"We will see about that! Wind tunnel!" Demons from all around them began to be drawn into the hole in his hand. Even Kagura stood back as to avoid the powerful winds, yet the little girl stood there, staring vacantly back at him. Not even a single stand of her hair was blown out of place as the wind tunnel sucked up the demon army that now raced towards him.


	7. Traitor

**AN:**Sorry for the long wait between chapters... I've been busy. Hopefully things will move faster from now on.

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* * *

CH07: Traitor**

* * *

"Dance of the Dragon!"

"Watch out, Kagome!" Koga appeared out of nowhere to carry Kagome out of harms way.

"Kagura!" Sango spat as if the name left a vile taste in her mouth, "Time to pay for what you have done to Miroku!"

"What the hell is going on. Why do you smell like the mutt." Koga growled.

"Not now, Koga! Can't you see we have more important things going on."

"What have I done to anger you?" Kagura asked. She smiled mischievously as Sango had to dig her Hiraikotsu into the ground as the force of the wind tunnel got too close to her. "It's his own choice to use Master Naraku's gift, even if it will kill him."

"You intend us all to be sucked up into his wind tunnel?"

"Of course not." Kagura snatched a wasp demon from the air, "These are Saimyoushou, Their poison is deadly even to most demons, yet he takes them into his body without end." As if on cue, Miroku screamed in agony and fell to his knees, grasping his hand which had turned dark and sickly from the poison.

Koga grabbed her shirt and pulled, ripping it to reveal the mark on her neck.

"You mated him!"

"I didn't do anything, and if I did, it's not any of your -"

"Don't you lay a filthy paw on her!." Inyasha growled as he struck Koga with a furious punch to the head.

"The monk is defeated." Kanna said as she approached Kagura. "The Saimyoushou poison will surely kill him.

"Bitch!" Sango threw her Hiraikotsu. Kanna stepped in front Kagura. When the weapon struck Kanna's Mirror, it was sent back striking Sango.

"No, Sango!" Kagome turned from the ferocious brawl between Koga and Inuyasha and rushed over to the woman who was collapsed upon the ground. "Sango, are you okay?"

"I'll be fine, as soon as the wind bitch is dead." Sango gasped. She had only had the wind knocked out of her.

"Get down!" Kagome and Sango ducked as Kohaku's weapon whizzed over their heads to strike a demon that had come down at them from the sky, The weapon flew wildly away.

"Kohaku!"

"Sango..." His voice cracked as blood dribbled down his chin. He fell to the ground. There was a small round hole in his back.

"Noo! Kohaku!" Sango dropped her weapon and ran towards her brother.

"This has to stop." Kagome said resolutely, "Make them all go away, or else!" She fit an arrow to the bow she held and pointed it at Kagura's heart.

"Or else what? You'll bleed on me?" Kagura said scornfully. "Dance of blades!" The wind met with Kagome's arrow and was purified. Kagome's attack halted only momentarily as Kagura's little helper tried to deflect the arrow with her mirror. Instead of having her attack deflected back at her as Sango's had, Kagome's arrow pierced the mirror cracking it down the center before flying wildly up into the sky and vaporizing some of the demons that were there.

"It's broken." Kanna said emotionlessly.

"Annoying priestess." Kagura glared at Kagome. "Time to die. Dance of the dragon!"

"Don't touch her!" Kagura had to stop her attack to dodge Inuyasha's punch.

"Is that the best you can do?" Kagura taunted.

"No." Inuyasha landed a glancing blow. "But this is!" He drew the Tetsusaiga and swung it at Kagura. The blade missed its target, but it sent out a wave of demonic energy. Kagura screamed in pain as the demonic energy tore at her body.

"Curse you, Inuyasha." Her clothes had been ripped to shreds by the attack and she had deep lacerations from the glancing blow of the attack. "I may not be able to kill you today, but that wasn't my goal. Dance of blades!" The attack was aimed at Sango. It struck between her and her brother's lifeless body which floated over to Kagura on the wind. "Farewell, the next time we meet shall be your last." She plucked a feather from her hair and used it as a vessel to fly off with Kohaku and Kanna before anyone could stop her.

* * *

With Kagura gone, the remaining demons that had not fled the battle had quickly been rounded up and slaughtered by the soldiers. Sango was understandable distant and distraught. Any mention of her brother caused her to burst into tears. She buried herself in the copious amounts of work that was required to recover from such a large assault of the base. Kohaku had not been the only one of her family to die that day. Her entire village had been slaughtered and she was the only one remaining. At least they had gotten proper burials. Not even Miroku, whose seals had kept the poison contained until it had been purified, could alleviate her sorrow, even going so far as to not even look at another woman, but he was powerless to comfort her and could only be there and hold her as she cried herself to sleep in the evenings. 

Kagome was finding life hard in a different way. Word quickly spread that she had been marked by Inuyasha. This made her the but of many jokes, and caused the demon soldiers to avoid speaking to her entirely. Because Sango was so entrenched in her sorrow, and Miroku focusing all his attention on her, Kagome found that the only person she had to talk with was Inuyasha, which only exacerbated the situation. She found herself following Inuyasha around as he did his work like she was a lost little puppy but even he was decidedly untalkative and downright pensive. This was rather new to Kagome. Inuyasha was a creature of action and impulsiveness. He never took time to think.

"Inuyasha..."

"Ugnh." He grunted affirmatively as he wrenched a scrap of armored plating from the ground and threw it into a large bin that was routinely replaced by trucks whenever it filled up with the scraps.

"Are you okay?"

"Uh." He grunted again and stared into the sky thoughtfully.

"Are you sure? You've been acting strangely. I'm worried about you."

"Back off!" Inuyasha turned towards her and bared his fangs. At first Kagome thought that she was being too pushy until she heard a hasty apology from a young panther demon who had come within inches of her.

"Inuyasha..." She grabbed his arm. She hadn't meant to do that. If Inuyasha was in a bad mood she didn't really want to anger him, even if she could sit him at any time. It was the fault of the stupid mark she decided. It was not only affecting how other demons treated her, it affected how she acted around Inuyasha and she suspected that the effect was mutual because his eyes softened at her touch.

"It's nothing. I've just been thinking.

Kagome fought the urge to make a snide remark about this. It wasn't the right time to be goading him on. "What about?"

"I don't understand it." He said, "They made it so far into the base before they were caught."

"They killed everyone they came across. Maybe no one sounded the alarm."

"No one has to sound the alarm. It sounds on it's own, especially if a demon enters without a pass card, and even then it alerts security to verify their identity."

"Couldn't those birds have..."

"They can tell." Inuyasha insisted. "The only way they could have gotten in is if someone added them to the system or disabled it, and that is on the lowest level and that requires clearance so high that I don't even know anyone who has it."

"You're saying that..."

"Someone betrayed us, someone high in the chain of command." Inuyasha said.

"But there are so many security precautions. Who could have access to -"

"Only one person that I know of... The facility's director." Inuyasha stated gravely.

"But why?" Kagome asked, "Isn't his whole job to enable the eradication of the free demons. It doesn't make any sense for him to help them attack us."

"Look at this." Inuyasha pointed to the edge of a piece of shrapnel embedded in the ground, "It's the external armor for one of the energy cannons. And it's charred on the inside."

"That doesn't prove anything."

"I haven't seen any pieces going the other way."

"So you're saying that the defenses were sabotaged as well." Kagome was beginning to see why Inuyasha had been so pensive. How did you confront a man whose face and name no one knew, ans whose location no one could enter.

"Iron reaver!" Inuyasha's claws sliced through a tree, that had somehow managed to make it onto the grounds of the base, so suddenly that Kagome was startled into clutching him and emitting a squeal of surprise. He lifted up the lower half of the tree and tossed it towards the nearest waste bin.

"What's that?" Kagome knelt down by a small bundle of cloth and fur. It was a young, injured demon fox. She picked it up and it trembled in her arms. "It will be alright now." Kagome said.

"Just put it back where you found it." Inuyasha huffed jealously.

"He's hurt!" Kagome said defensively and clutched the child demon as if she feared that Inuyasha would take the kit from her.

"If he wasn't, he would be hurting you. It's a wild demon."

"Sit!" Kagome said angrily, "He's only a child, and he's hurt."

"He's a demon." He yelled from his position on the ground.

"So are you!" Kagome said angrily.

"I..." Inuyasha could think of no real response. "I'm only half demon." He muttered.

Kagome turned and walked purposefully away.

"No..." The kit muttered in his sleep, "Father... Come back..."

"Everything is alright now." Kagome said as she entered the elevator. The demon's paws latched on to her blouse and held on tight, The door to the elevator closed then red lights began to flash.

"An unauthorized demon has been detected! Identify the intruder or you will be killed." A gruff voice said.

"He's only a child."

"Miss Higurashi, no unauthorized demons will be allowed to enter the complex regardless of age."

"He's an injured child, not a monster. He needs help."

"It is a threat to the safety of this base, he cannot be allowed entrance. Purify him or remove him from the base complex or a disposal team will be sent to take care of the problem for you." The doors opened.

"Fine." She stomped angrily out of the elevator and then stopped. Who could she get to help her? Inuyasha had already expressed his feelings on the matter. Feelings of resentment against demons were high thanks to the attack, and even the authorized demons were getting into fights with the human soldiers.

"Your mark is fading." Sesshomaru's cold voice observed. "This Sesshomaru did not think that it would last as long for one such as he."

"If he tries it, I'll sit him even worse than the last time he did." Kagome glared at Sesshomaru, showing no sign of intimidation. She expected him to be angry, but instead, she thought she saw him smirk for a second.

"Rin is in the hospital wing." He said with a glance towards the furry bundle in her arms. "Take me there."

"I can't." She replied, "They won't let me in."

"Do not provoke me woman." He glared menacingly at her.

"This way." Kagome finally said as she re-entered the elevator.

"Miss Higurashi, you were warned." The doors closed. "You'll be taken to the first level-"

"No, this Sesshomaru will go to the seventh level."

"But..."

"It perplexes me that humans place such little value on their lives."

"There's an unauthorized demon..."

"You think that this Sesshomaru cannot defeat a child, and an unconscious one at that."

"Of course not, Lord Sesshomaru!" The man's voice had reached such a nervous pitch that it practically screeched like the emergency sirens when he apologized as the elevator began to move.

"Thanks." Kagome said. Sesshomaru did not respond to her thanks. When the doors opened, there was a squad of soldiers awaiting them. Their weapons were armed, cocked and pointed at the door. In the blink of an eye, Sesshomaru had disabled every single one of them before they could have a chance to pull the trigger. Those still standing gave Sesshomaru and Kagome plenty of room to pass as they headed into the white hall.

The medical personnel grabbed the kit from her as son as she stepped into the room. He was immediately strapped to a bed so thoroughly that there was no chance of him breaking free, even were he as strong as a powerful adult demon.

"Lord Sesshomaru! Thanks for visiting me." Rin ran over and hugged the stately demon's leg. "Kagome! It's good to see you again." Rin smiled. She was missing a tooth, but was otherwise looked unharmed.

"How are you?" Kagome asked.

"I lost a tooth."

"Did one of the attacking demons do that?"

"I tripped on a rock." Rin admitted. "Only the feather lady even came close to me."

"What feather lady?"

"She was tall and pretty. She was wearing a kimono and had a fan and she wore feathers in her hair."

"A demon?" Sesshomaru asked.

"That sounds like Kagura." Kagome exclaimed.

"Who is this Kagura?"

"We don't really know much about her except that she controls the wind and works for someone named Naraku." Sesshomaru's eyes widened with surprise as he heard this, then they narrowed murderously.

"This Sesshomaru has business to attend to." His fist was clenched angrily as he left the room.

"Bye Lord Sesshomaru!" Rin waved happily, ignoring his suddenly foul temper. "Who is this?" Rin hopped up onto a chair so she could see the bound demon child that lay there being examined.

Kagome sat and talked with Rin as she watched the doctors work. She did not trust them to think of the child's best interest considering the trouble she had getting him into the building. As soon as the doctors and nurses had finished, she removed the restraints that bound the child. Almost immediately he woke up. At first, he was scared and cried as he tried to escape the grip of the strange woman who held him, but after a minute he calmed down as Kagome stroked his fur (carefully avoiding his ears) and whispered comforting things to him. After that he just cried into her shirt until he had no tears left.

"Are you feeling better?" The little demon nodded. "That's good. My name is Kagome, what's yours?"

"And I am Rin!" The little demon recoiled from the girl clutching even more tightly to Kagome.

"Shi-Shippo..." The child stuttered fearfully. "My name is Shippo!"

"Rin, do you think we can get him registered? I would never even have gotten him here without Sesshomaru's help."

Rin leaned forward until her nose almost touched the little fox demon's. Shippo's eyes shifted nervously. "Boo." Shippo screamed and hid behind Kagome. Rin laughed. "He's funny. Let's go!"

It was almost comical how easy the process was compared to Kagome's registration. Rin skipped most of the tests, skipping to the picture and DNA sample which were all that were really needed.

"Here you go." Rin as she was handing Shippo the card. "Make sure you keep this with you." An explosion rocked the base, causing Rin to drop the card. Sirens began to blare.

"Sesshoma-" The voice came from the loudspeaker. It was fut off by a whipping sound and a splatter that could only mean that the speaker was dead.

"Is Sesshomaru attacking?" Kagome asked.

"I don't know." Rin said as she picked up the dropped card. She seemed wholly unconcerned. "If it isn't he won't live long." Kagome, however, was quite nervous. She didn't have her bow with her and without it she felt completely useless in any sort of confrontation. She rubbed her neck nervously.

"I'm going to get my bow." She said, "Come on Shippo." The kit grabbed the card Rin was holding then raced after Kagome.

Shippo kept glancing around nervously as they walked. He would race ahead to glance around corners then lag behind as if he feared that something would jump out and get him. Something did. He was knocked into the air as the floor exploded. Kagome caught him and shielded his body with her own as specks of concrete bounced off of her and left laceration across her back.

"Get down." Sesshomaru said calmly as he brushed by her from the direction of the hole. He used his poison whip, just barely missing Kagome who had dropped to the floor. His attack decapitated a man whose body crumbled into dust, only to have other identical men swarm out of the hole using wood-like tentacles. A battle ensued. Everything moved so fast that Kagome could do nothing more than cower in the corner, caught between Sesshomaru's whip and the mysterious army of identical twins. Kagome screamed as a severed tentacle writhed and latched onto her ankle.

"Fox fire!" The little demon clutched in her arms set the tentacle ablaze with blue fire. The tentacle blackened and stiffened as it burned, but to Kagome, the fire was cool to the touch.

"Thanks Shippo."

"It was nothing," Shippo bragged, momentarily forgetting the battle raging near them. "For a strong demon like-" He screamed and curled into a quivering ball of fur in Kagome's lap as attack barely missed them.

"He's protecting the girl, use her as a shield!" One of the men glided toward Kagome.

"Like hell you will!" Sesshomaru was pushed aside and Inuyasha barged into the battle. Tetsusaiga slashed and the man that had gone after Kagome dissolved.

"Inuyasha!"

"Run!" Inuyasha ordered. "Get out of here!" The momentary distraction was enough for the enemies to impale his shoulder with one of their tentacles.

"INUYASHA!" Kagome screamed.

"Run you stupid wench!" Inuyasha shouted as he fended of the other enemies by one-handedly swinging the Tetsusaiga. She ran, but straight towards him. She cleaved to him from behind. She began to glow brightly and the tentacle impaling him dissolved under the purifying light as did many of the attackers.

"Leave! This is my fight." Sesshomaru ordered, pushing past Inuyasha. Inuyasha growled, but didn't argue. He grabbed Kagome's thighs and hoisted her onto his back then began to run away from the battle.


	8. Childish Things

**AN: **Assuming I remain on schedule, 2 more chapters and perhaps an epilogue to go.

**

* * *

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**CH08: Childish Things**

* * *

"There's something wrong with Shippo!" Kagome said urgently. 

"Who the hell is Shippo?" Inuyasha asked, not even slowing down as he rebounded off of a wall in order to prevent himself from slowing down on the turn.

"The fox demon we found."

"You mean you still have that stupid thing?"

"First, he's not stupid, and second, of course I still have him! You can't expect me to leave him alone."

"Of course I can! It's just a damn demon."

"Sit boy!" Inuyasha slid face first down the hall, coming to rest in front of the door to their own room and Kagome kneeling on his back and cradling the unconscious Shippo.

"What was that for?" Inuyasha shouted.

"Why shouldn't I? You're only a demon." Kagome swiped her card and the door opened. She stepped through.

"And that's probably why he is hurt!"

"Inuyasha...S-"

"You purified the tentacle while you were holding him. What the hell did you think would happen?"

"You mean..."

"Stupid wench." Inuyasha muttered as he entered the room and closed the door. "If I hadn't been only half demon you would have purified me as well." He removed his shirt to show her a brilliant red burn that covered most of his back. "The kid's damn lucky that he is so weak or else he would have gotten much worse than a nap."

"Inuyasha..." Kagome stared in shock at the damage she had unknowingly caused. "I'm so sorry."

"Feh. Looks worse than it is." Inuyasha said. "It'll mostly be gone by tomorrow anyway."

"How did you know that I was in trouble?" Kagome asked.

"You called me."

"No I didn't. I never once even mentioned your name."

"You didn't have to. The mark; I know if someone touches it."

"So you really were trying to protect me when you did it."

"Umm, sure. What else would I have been doing." His ears twitched nervously.

"I don't know, but the way you were acting, it was like you were thinking of someone else."

* * *

Kikyo let fly an arrow. The arrow struck a tree. It was not a normal tree, but a sapling that had, through no choice of its own, absorbed some demonic energy and gained sentience. 

"You wish, Bankotsu, I could kick your ass any day of the week." Inuyasha had spoken as he and a group of soldiers walked towards the base.

"In your dreams, that is after Banryu knocks you senseless." Bankotsu replied, twirling his giant halberd seemingly effortlessly.

"You're right. I could kick your ass in my sleep."

"Don't look now, but it's Inuyasha's little mistress." Jakotsu said, sounding slightly perturbed, "But don't worry, I know that I'll always be your true love." Inuyasha shuddered at the cross-dresser's playful little comment. Jakotsu was the reason that Inuyasha hated being sent on missions with Bankotsu's band of seven.

"I'll see you later." Inuyasha said, leaving the group and heading towards Kikyo.

"It's sad, isn't it." Kikyo said.

"What is?" Inuyasha asked.

"That tree. A few minutes ago it was alive and healthy, and now it's dead."

"So it's just a tree."

"Does something that you don't feel a connection to deserve to die, Inuyasha?"

"No..."

"This tree harmed no one and would go on harming no one, but for a little demonic energy, it is slain. What makes something deserving of death. Is it what he is or who he is? Does every demon deserve to die? Your father and brother are demons. Your father was killed in battle defending the innocent. Did he deserve to die? Your brother takes pride in the suffering he inflicts, yet is treated as nobility. Should he not have died instead? This tree did nothing and yet its life was seen as a blight upon the earth."

"It's not our job to decide who lives or dies." Inuyasha said.

"Isn't it? If not us, then who? What if the director gave orders that you or I should die?"

"That wouldn't happen. We're loyal soldiers. We're not a threat."

"Neither was this tree. Yet we kill without thought or remorse, following orders because we have been told that these things must die for the good of the people."

* * *

Kagome tucked Shippo into the bed, and then sat down on the edge of the bed with her back against the wall. 

"I'm sorry." Inuyasha said.

"For what?" Kagome asked.

"For what I said about Shippo." Inuyasha said, "I shouldn't treat things I don't know like they have no value."

"Why the change of heart?"

"Someone once told me that we kill demons, regardless of their intent, just because they are demons and we are ordered to kill them. What if we were the ones who were to be killed? What if we are the next ones in line to die? The puppets tried to attack you."

"Puppets?"

"Those men who were after Sesshomaru. They weren't men. They weren't demons either. They were puppets created using a piece of the demon that controls them. They attacked you just because you were there. We can't do the same thing, or else we would be the ones who should be killed."

"Thanks, Inuyasha."

"There's something I want to ask you." Inuyasha said evasively.

"What is it?" Kagome asked.

"If I hadn't been there you might have been killed... I don't know how long the mark will last since I'm only a half-demon..."

"You want to mark me again?" Kagome asked.

"I don't want anything to happen to you." He brushed her hair back from her neck, revealing the mark. Kagome shuddered in pleasure as he brushed up against it.

"Inuyasha..." Without waiting for her to finish, Inuyasha sunk his fangs into the base of her neck. She gasped and grabbed his shoulders. "Inu-" She was unable to speak. It felt so good, like she could feel what he was feeling. She was forced down onto the bed as Inuyasha began to suckle and lick the wounds caused by his teeth. Each time he touched the mark it felt like they were connected as one person.

"Foxfire!" Shippo yelled, "Back off vampire-dog!"

"Hey that's hot!" Inuyasha was on the child in a second.

"Sit!" Inuyasha bounced off the bed and landed on the floor.

"Are you alright Kagome?" Shippo asked.

"I'm fine. He wasn't hurting me."

"It's always her who's hurting me." Inuyasha grumbled.

"Ohh..." Shippo said, smelling Kagome, "You and him are mates. I guess he isn't strong enough so I didn't notice before."

"I'm plenty strong enough, at least to take down a little punk like you."

"Are you kidding, your scent was barely on her, she needs someone strong like me to protect her."

"I'll show you strong!"

"Fox magic!" Inuyasha found himself trapped under a stone statue that had materialized from a puff of smoke. It was so heavy that he couldn't even budge it.

"You little bastard!"

"Sit!"

"Hey! What was that for?" Inuyasha looked up and saw that the little fox demon was on the verge of tears.

"How can you be so insensitive?" Kagome yelled at him.

"What do you mean insensitive!"

"He obviously lost his parents last night and now you have the nerve to make cracks about his parentage!"

"I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Sit!"

"But he started it!"

"Sit!"

"Stop it!"

"Sit!"

"Oww!" Inuyasha groaned.

"Apologize!"

"Why should I?"

"Si-"

"Wait! I'm sorry, okay?"

"Much better." Kagome said. Inuyasha glared at Shippo who was making faces at him from behind Kagome. "Now, Shippo, let him up."

"Okay, Kagome." He said innocently as he transformed the heavy statue into a pebble which he tucked into his waist band. All their cards began to vibrate simultaneously.

They headed to the nearest terminal. The message, addressed to all, was short and to the point. All were to report to the surface at 8 am. The director would be personally performing a public announcement and execution of the demon who had infiltrated the base and caused the previous night's attacks.

"Does this mean that they think Sesshomaru is responsible for the attack last night?"

"No, it means that the director is responsible and Sesshomaru gave him a perfect scapegoat." Inuyasha said.

"Are you going to save him?" Kagome asked.

"Why should I?"

"He saved me, and helped Shippo."

"After all those sits, I'm not sure that it was necessarily a good thing." He grunted.

"Would you have felt better if you'd beaten up an orphan who is less than one quarter your size and has demonic energy to match?"

"Feh." Inuyasha pouted. A knock sounded at the door.

"Who is it?" Kagome called, reaching for her bow.

"Miroku." Inuyasha opened the door with his blade drawn. Miroku did indeed stand there as did some other soldiers that Kagome did not recognize. They carried a box and a plastic-wrapped mattress.

"Perfect!" Kagome said, "Now Shippo will have his own bed."

"What about me?" Inuyasha asked.

"I assumed you would sleep where you've been sleeping. If that's not good enough, you can always sleep on the floor."

"So..." Miroku said slyly, "Only one bed. You lucky dog." He received a quick lump on the head from Inuyasha. He recovered quickly, "Somehow it's just not the same when you do it. Sango doesn't go easy on me." Kagome began to laugh. "What's so funny."

"Nothing." Kagome said, quickly trying to regain a straight face.

"So kids and girls are stronger than Inuyasha?" Shippo asked, having no reason to protect Inuyasha's pride.

"That's it! I don't have to take this from a runt like you."

"On second thought, you can sleep on the floor."

"Like hell I will!"

* * *

Inuyasha was having the worst sleep of his life. Kagome had ended up sleeping with Shippo because he 'had a nightmare'. Then the kid had the nerve to continue touching where he had marked Kagome, snapping him out of his sleep. The kid was driving him insane. It was like he was trying to claim Kagome for his own, but for different reason's than Inuyasha's. The kid was jealous that he was so close to Kagome, whom he seemed to have imprinted on as his new mother rather quickly. He was not going to take this lying down. Okay, maybe he was by that is only because the damn kid had used another of his little tricks. 

'Got it.' He held the leaf that contained the fox magic spell. He was able to move again. He crept across the room as silently as he could. He raised his fist and prepared to give the little fox demon a good pounding. Then he remembered all the stuff that Kagome had been saying. She was right of course. Beating up a child wouldn't help. He could do so much worse. He picked Kagome up, gently nuzzling her neck.

"Inuyasha..." Kagome murmured, snuggling against him. This was much better revenge. He laid her on his bed and settled in beside her, wrapping his arms protectively around her.

"No one protects you but me." He whispered, "And I'll beat up as many orphans and girls as it takes." After that, he had one of the best sleeps of his life.

* * *

When Inuyasha woke up, he felt a head resting on his chest. It felt good. He reached up to stroke the soft silky hair and was surprised to find a pony tail. His eyes snapped open to behold Shippo's bright red hair. 

"What the hell?"

"Ahh!" His movement had woken the fox demon. "What are you doing with me. Let me go!" Inuyasha grabbed him by the scruff of the neck.

"What are you doing in my bed?"

"How should I know? Last thing I remember, I was sleeping with Kagome!"

"You transformed into her didn't you!"

"What makes you think that?"

"Cause I was sleeping with Kagome in my arms last night, and I woke up to find you there."

"Put Shippo down before I S-I-T you." Kagome yawned, "I got up and brought him over." She rubbed her eyes sleepily and pulled the covers from over her head. Inuyasha looked from Shippo to where Kagome lay beside him. Shippo took this opportunity to bite his hand and leapt into Kagome's arms when he let go.

"Ow, you stupid fox." Inuyasha glared at Shippo who stuck his tongue out at Inuyasha in response. He clenched his fist and prepared to strike the small demon boy. He felt a wave of Kagome's anger wash over him. Shippo had touched her mark. That made him angry, but Kagome's anger meant that anything he did would result in a series of sits. "Let's get ready. We don't want to be late to kill the director."

"So you do care about your brother. I thought you might not save him."

"Let's get this straight. I am not saving my brother. He threatened you, he sent demons to kill you, and if my guess is right... He is probably the one who controls the wind bitch. That is why I'm killing him"

"Thanks Inuyasha." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek then climbed out of bed as Inuyasha began to turn red. "I'm going to take a shower."

"No you aren't." Inuyasha leapt out of bed and stood in front of the door. "Not today."

"But after all the stuff yesterday, I need to wash."

"No you don't, especially because of what happened yesterday, I am not letting you out of my sight."

"I stink." Kagome said.

"No, you don't." Inuyasha leaned forward and sniffed her, "You smell nice, and my nose is a lot stronger than yours."

"What..." Kagome was shocked by Inuyasha's compliment. "You don't mean that."

"Yes I do." Inuyasha grabbed her and hugged her tightly to his chest, ignoring the kit who was caught in the middle of the embrace. "I'd be happy if I smelled nothing else."

"Inuyasha..." Kagome sighed, returning the embrace, "I still need a shower."

"Fine, but we do it my way."

* * *

"Get out!" Inuyasha growled as he threw the various occupants of the men's washroom out into the hall, whether they were clothed or not. Then he barred the door and stood guard over it with his sword drawn. "Okay take your shower." He ordered, "I won't look unless you scream." 

Kagome entered one of the shower stalls and screamed. Inuyasha was there in an instant.

"What is it?" The stall was a disaster. Huge globs of fur clogged the drain. Scales and dark viscous substances floated in the pool of water at the bottom of the stall. The walls were streaked with muck and grime.

"I'm not doing it." Kagome said, "Not in here."

"They're not all like that." Inuyasha dragged her to the end of the row. "This one should be better." It was. This one was fairly clean. A used towel lay on the floor but other than that it was pretty much spotless. "This one is only used by humans." Inuyasha said, grabbing the towel and tossing it into the next stall. Inuyasha returned to his position guarding the door.

"Open up Inuyasha!"

"Hell, no!" Inuyasha yelled back through the door. "Especially not to you!"

"Be glad it's me, or else they would have guards breaking down the door, but someone thought it would be better to try one of your friends first."

"Tell them to be patient; they can come in when I'm done."

"Just let us in."

"There is no way I'm letting you into the same room when Kagome is showering.

"You're taking a shower with Kagome?"

"No, I'm guarding the door!"

"There is a women's washroom for a reason."

"I can't get in to protect her there."

"Why would she need protecting in the bathroom?"

"Because the director's betrayed us all!" Inuyasha replied loudly. A cacophony of voices rose up from this comment on the outside of the door, debating what Inuyasha had said.

"Inuyasha, do you realize what you're saying?"

"I'm not stupid, monk; I know exactly what I'm saying."

"You could be executed for saying things like that."

"And just who's going to execute me? As soon as the director shows his true colors during his announcement, I am going to slice his damn head off- Hey where did Shippo go?"

"That feels really good, Kagome!"

"Damn that runt!" Inuyasha growled.

"Of course. A good shampoo and scalp massage is the perfect pick me up."

"And look at the bubbles. POP!" The little kitsune laughed.

"Just what the hell do you think you're doi-" Inuyasha bust into the steamy shower stall.

"Sit!"

"Kagome!"

"What do you think you're doing?" Kagome asked, "What kind of perverted guy walks in on a girl who is showering?"

"But Shippo,"

"He's just a kid, and he needed to be washed. You on the other hand haven't even mated me yet, which means you don't get to barge in on me! Now OUT!" Inuyasha scrambled out of the shower stall. His heart was pounding like a jack hammer. 'Yet' the one word stood out from all the others in his mind.

A few minutes later, Kagome and Shippo were all cleaned up and ready to go. Inuyasha unblocked the door and found that only a few people had waited out there and they included Miroku and Koga, and a few others whose ingrained routines would not allow them to seek out any of the bathrooms located elsewhere on the base.

"So, Kagome, the mutt hasn't got the manhood to mate you properly." Koga said, pinning her against the wall. "I can guarantee that if you leave that mutt behind, I could mate you real good." He accentuated this with a pelvic thrust.

"I'll say this once Koga, it's not his choice, and it's definitely not yours. I will mate whomever I want, and whenever I want to do it, and not a moment before. Acting like Miroku is only going to hurt you."

"I am not afraid of dog-breath." Koga said, baring his fangs, "And you just need someone who's strong enough to take-OOF!" Koga began to whine as he fell to the ground, clutching his crotch.

"Now who's not man enough for her?" Inuyasha smirked.

"Kagome," Miroku said, "Allow me to present my deepest regrets that I did not intervene before you had to endure such a-" He was struck across the head.

"You shake the hand not the ass, lecher." Inuyasha growled and raised his fist to strike the monk again.

"Why didn't you punch Koga?" Kagome asked, "You usually beat up anyone, who even lays eyes on me."

"Are you kidding, after I pissed you off, there was no way hell you'd let him touch you." Inuyasha said, "At least I hoped you wouldn't. It got awfully close there. If you'd waited a second longer, I would have had to... intervene... Besides, I haven't mated you YET so it's still your choice no matter how many people I have to beat up."

"I was wondering about that myself. You did yell that rather loudly." Miroku said.

"I didn't mean it like that." Kagome blushed.

"The announcement will start soon, we had better hurry up. We can meet Sango back at my room and head up from there. After what you said, news is going to spread quickly and you may run into trouble." Miroku said, "It is best to stick together, especially if you are right."


	9. Rebellion

**

* * *

CH09: Rebellion

* * *

**

"Okay." Sango said and grabbed her weapon. Unlike the others she had no qualms about killing the director, especially if he had even the slightest role in the death of her brother. She would have revenge or die trying. They headed down the halls towards the elevators. Those who saw them looked nervous. Some stood aside to allow them to pass by; others placed their hands on their weapons and gave them looks daring them to start anything. A few, though certainly not many gave them inconspicuous nods of encouragement, but none seemed ready to openly support them.

When the doors to the elevator opened to the outside world, they saw that things had changed. There was now a stage that showcased some of the rubble and a podium. Surrounding this were demon puppets which also lined the edges of the crowd that had formed. There were several chairs on the stage and right behind the podium was an empty spot that was surely where the prisoner would be executed.

Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango, Kagome, and Shippo chose a spot inconspicuously near the aisle created by the demon puppets and close enough that they were within range for both Sango and Kagome to attack if... when it came to that. Inuyasha noticed that many people seemed to draw away from them, seeking less dangerous seats, while some others moved closer, some were friends, others baring their fangs and hoping that he would make a move.

"Touch her and you're the first to die." Inuyasha growled as a slightly limping Koga stood almost stoically next to Kagome.

"Hey, someone has to protect her while you put her in danger." Koga said, "And when you get yourself killed..." He winked at Kagome.

"Sango and Miroku can protect her." Inuyasha said, "And if they need help, I'll be there."

"You know Koga, he is right, Kagome is obviously too much of a distraction for you." The wolf demon was knocked to the ground by a swift punch by Ayame to the back of his head. "I'll help protect Kagome, and Koga can protect me."

"Thanks, Ayame." Kagome smiled.

"And Shippo can protect me!" Rin said, pushing her way through the crowd. She carried a heavy looking cloth-wrapped package.

"Hey I never agreed to that!" Shippo complained, "I want to protect Kagome too!"

"It's okay Shippo. Just keep close by me and we can protect each other."

"But she's dangerous."

"I can't fight at all." Rin laughed, "Lord Sesshomaru would never allow it. It would be an insult to his ability to protect me."

"See Shippo." Kagome said, "She is a little strange, but she is not dangerous."

"Can't you smell it? This Sesshomaru guy must be strong." Shippo ran around in a circle as Rin tried to catch him.

"He is not going to hurt you for protecting Rin."

"He'll kill me if I touch her." Shippo cried.

"That means..." Kagome thought about the way Inuyasha acted around her. There was no doubt that without the Tetsusaiga, Sesshomaru would come out of any fight with Inuyasha without a scratch on him. Shippo was very attached to her and didn't fear Inuyasha thanks to Inuyasha's soft side and her sit commands. "Rin can I see you neck for a minute."

"You want to see Lord Sesshomaru's mark?" Rin asked, "It's really pretty." She pulled down her collar and pulled back her hair, revealing it. Two perfectly round scars had a dull silver sheen. Each was surrounded by a blue crescent moon like the one that appeared on Sesshomaru's own forehead. Above and below each moon was a purple claw-shaped marking. "It's not very big cause I'm not old enough to get marked properly."

"That is really beautiful." Her own mark had a little bit of purple around the edges, but she had assumed it was just bruising. "I never knew about the tattoos that come with it."

Rin said, "They know who we belong to by the color and shape of the marks, and how strong our mate is by the size of the mark."

"Kagome's mark barely has any markings at all." Shippo announced, "You have to look really hard to tell they are there."

"I'm a half demon." Inuyasha growled, "It's not the same for me."

"Sesshomaru was surprised he was able to mark her at all, especially since hers is not a real marking yet either. The real one will probably show up much better. Lord Sesshomaru sys that mine will reach from my elbow to my chin to my hip. I can't wait to see what it looks like."

"Sesshomaru has markings like his mark on him, but Inuyasha doesn't have any marks that I've seen. I wonder what his will look like."

"He's coming." Rin said, touching her own mark. Moments later, a group of demon puppets exited the elevator. They carried Sesshomaru who was immobilized by the tentacles that held his limbs and wrapped around his torso. Even being carried as a prisoner, Sesshomaru stood tall and kept his regal air about him. Kagome picked Rin up so that she could see over the crowd. She waved and called out to him. He didn't even turn his head. Following this came the division heads, including Kaede, and Bankotsu, who, despite his age, still carried Banryu as if it were as light as a feather. Banryu was the only division head who still went out on missions and was considered one of the best fighters in the entire organization.

A dark mist began to flow from the elevator. It spread out along the ground. Shippo and Rin began to cough.

"A demonic miasma, don't breathe it in." Miroku warned. Kagome picked up Rin and Shippo. More demon puppets exited the elevator. Then came three people. In the center was a man they had never seen before, but his visage was no stranger to them. It was the same face that stared at them from every one of the demon puppets. His dark garb, his cold, calculating glare and his long dark wavy hair were made all the more sinister by the self-satisfied smirk that curled the corner of his lip. On his left was a figure they all knew all too well.

"Kagura." Miroku clenched his cursed hand.

"And Kanna is there as well."

"Who is that behind them?"

"It can't be!" Sango gasped. Guarding the one whom they now knew must be Naraku was none other than Sango's little brother Kohaku. "Kohaku!" He didn't even look their way. His eyes stared blankly ahead, ignoring Sango's calls. "What has Naraku done to him?"

"Whatever it is, we'll fix it. He won't get away with this." Miroku comforted her.

Naraku stepped onto the stage where the division heads had already taken their seats. "I am Director Onigumo." He started. "A few nights ago we suffered an attack that nearly destroyed the base. Thanks to the quick thinking and bravery many of you showed, we somehow managed to survive despite the overwhelming odds. I congratulate you on this victory, but one thing has troubled me since the attack. Why did the alarms not go off the moment a single unauthorized demon stepped foot upon the base and could only come to one conclusion: There is a traitor among us." Naraku paused dramatically, "I of course did not want to start a witch hunt that would turn you against each other. I had my own suspicions, but little did I know that they would be confirmed so quickly. You see before you the traitor." He waved his hand in the direction of Sesshomaru who smirked. "He who just last night infiltrated the base once again and attempted to slay me in my own office." Murmurs spread throughout the crowd.

"Fools." Sesshomaru derided the crowd, "To listen to such filth is below this Sesshomaru. Even the idlest brain who has studied demons knows that dog demons are loyal to a fault. It would take an equal betrayal to drive me to slaughter the leader of those I am sworn to serve even should my life be required."

"Silence, traitor!" Naraku glared at Sesshomaru, but already the experts in the various demonic fields murmured in agreement with Sesshomaru.

"You on the other hand are the failed result of the Hanyou Project. The project that was created 50 years ago in an effort to create more controllable soldiers. It is an effort that was a failure until this Sesshomaru's own blood was used to create the first and only successful half demon soldier: Inuyasha."

"Lies!" Onigumo said icily.

"Do you not remember? Onigumo the lab technician who took hold of the tainted jewel who coveted its power. You who opened the gates and released the demonic scourge upon the land. You who plays with the lives of others to reap joy in their suffering. You whose demonic incarnation threatened my mate!' He finished with a scream of rage as he tore free from the restraining tentacles. His poison claws were halted just short of Naraku's chest and he was rebound even more securely than before. Every demon soldier now talked loudly. Each one knew the danger of insulting or threatening another's mate. None would fault Sesshomaru for his anger. The crowd who had been mostly in favor of the director at the beginning now shifted to an almost equal groups of those in favor of Sesshomaru, those in favor of Onigumo and those who did not know who to believe in.

"Of course there have been plots against me before. And there is only one way to deal with disloyal soldiers. That is to say, the disloyal soldier must be executed... All of them." He turned his eyes towards Inuyasha. "Especially those who would openly oppose this organization."

"Are you finished yet?" Inuyasha yelled out over the crowd. "I want to get this execution over with." He drew his sword, "Or shall I tell them the full extent of the traitor's treachery, Onigumo 'sir', Or perhaps I should just call you Naraku, after all that is the name you took for yourself 50 years ago isn't it, the same one by which you control your demonic minions like the wind bitch who sits beside you now. She slaughtered the wolf tribe. She led your demonic army into battle that night and both of you threatened my mate!" Inuyasha leapt over the crowd and into the aisle, swinging his sword to slice off the tentacles that attempted to stop him.

"Stop him! He and his friends are all traitors!" The demon puppets attacked fiercely, but most of the other soldiers hesitated.

Inuyasha leapt onto the stage and advanced on Naraku. "It's time to teach you a lesson. You can't underestimate me. Look at Sesshomaru. His arm is gone because he underestimated me the night that the base was attacked. He wasn't even here."

"You can't be underestimated. A filthy half demon like you is worthless." He pulled out a small controller, one that Inuyasha was very familiar with.

"What's wrong? Afraid to face me now."

"No. You're not worth my time. But I'll give you a chance. Slay your brother and live."

"I have a better idea; I'll cut you up before you get a chance to push that button!" Inuyasha swung his sword. Naraku pressed the button. Not only was Naraku cleaved in two but the Tetsusaiga unleashed its devastating attack sending waves of demonic energy out destroying every demon puppet on the stage, releasing Sesshomaru. A great cloud of miasma exploded from Naraku's body. Suddenly everyone started moving at once, some attacking the demon puppets, others defending them. Inuyasha screamed in pain. Tentacles and various other demon appendages had appeared out of the poison cloud, biting and clawing, and impaling him all over. His sword fell to the ground and he was lifted into the air.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome screamed! Naraku wasn't dead. The bottom half of his body was gone but it had been replaced by the demonic appendages that grew out of him.

"Go ahead and try to kill me." Naraku laughed maniacally, "I am immortal! I am not a failure; I am more powerful than any full demon!" More of his tentacles attacked Sesshomaru who fought them off valiantly, but each one that was severed was immediately replaced by another.

"Lord Sesshomaru!"

"Rin! Wait!" The two kids dodged around the fighting adults. "Kagome said we should stay near her!"

"I've got to get to Lord Sesshomaru!" She still held the heavy bundle in her arms.

"Die Naraku!" Kagome yelled as she prepared to let fly an arrow. Ayame bumped into her as another soldier attacked and Kagome's aim was knocked off course and her arrow instead struck another demon that was destroyed by the purifying energy.

"Kohaku!" Sango broke through the crowd to the stage and ran towards her brother.

"Traitor." Kohaku said emotionlessly before throwing his weapon and spearing Sango's side with the blade.

"Sango!" Miroku struck aside friends and foes alike in an attempt to get to his beloved wife.

"Don't struggle monk, there's nothing you can do but watch her die!" Kagura laughed as she attacked from above.

An ear shattering scream halted the violence for a moment. "Inuyasha!" Kagome was holding her mark, but the markings had spread to the point that she had a pattern of jagged purple lines running across her face and down to her finger tips. A man raised his weapon to strike her down.

"Don't touch her!" Inuyasha roared. His claws, now longer, shredded Naraku's tentacles as if Inuyasha was not injured at all. He raced across the battlefield, ripping apart any who blocked his path. Except for the glowing blue pupils, his eyes had gone the color of blood. His fangs were bared menacingly as he created a trail of blood straight to the man who had been about to strike Kagome. Without a moment's hesitation, he grabbed the man by the throat and began to squeeze. His claws dug into the man's throat, spurting blood over the fearful onlookers. The man screamed, and then was silent. There was a crack and the man's head popped right off. Then he laughed. "Who's next?" Even Koga backed away. No one wanted to fight such a ruthless enemy.

"Inuyasha... Please stop."

'Shut up you stupid bitch!' He hadn't spoken a word but Kagome had heard it in her head and seen that he had meant it.

"Inu... yasha..." Her voice wavered. He glared at her. "Sit!" The beads yanked down on his neck but he braced himself and they failed to subjugate him.

"You will be sorry you tried that." He growled as he raised his fist and struck Kagome, sending her flying backwards.

"How dare you!" Koga leapt forward and struck Inuyasha in the face. "You stupid mutt! No one strikes my Kagome!" He said, hitting Inuyasha with each word.

"Is that all you have?" Inuyasha grabbed Koga's wrist, twisting until it snapped. "Don't tell me how to treat my mate. She belongs to me!"

"Not yet she doesn't." Koga whimpered, "You were never demon enough to take her."

"We will see about that." Inuyasha growled. He tossed Koga aside and leapt towards Kagome.

"SIT!" Kagome screamed, "SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT!!" Without his legs under him, Inuyasha was slammed deep into the ground. "Inuyasha..?" Kagome raced over to his unmoving form as her mark began to fade back to its original size. He lay in the hole with his blood pooling around him. "INUYASHAA!"

"Lord Sesshomaru!"

"Get back Rin!" Sesshomaru ordered.

"Lord Sesshomaru! Catch!"

"What is this?" Sesshomaru asked, leaping away from one of Naraku's strikes.

"Master Jaken had it made after Inuyasha stole the Tetsusaiga. It is a blade that should be worthy of you." Sesshomaru slashed the containing fabric and the sword inside emitted a terrible demonic aura.

"This is acceptable." He said, slashing at the tentacles. The demonic energy of the sword sent out waves of malicious demonic energy. "Dragon Strike!" All of Naraku's tentacles were severed in a single blow.

"Allow me." Bankotsu rose from his chair and stood as a barrier between Sesshomaru and Naraku.

"Yes, Bankotsu, kill!" Naraku laughed.

"I have waited for so long to hear that order." Bankotsu said with a bloodthirsty smile. He began to twirl Banryu over his head like a baton, and then he struck... backwards, right through Naraku's heart. Then, he brought his blade forward and sent a ball of demonic energy at Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru tried to block it but was pushed backwards before he could deflect it. "Naraku was much too easy; I hope you're more of a challenge!"

"You will die." Sesshomaru said confidently.


	10. Please don't Die, I love you!

**AN: **Final Chapter. Hope you enjoyed the fic.

**

* * *

**

**CH10: Please don't Die, I love you!**

* * *

"Kohaku!" Sango stumbled. The weapon was yanked roughly from her body. She fell to her knees and clutched the front of his armor. Her whole body trembled. She had a coughing fit that sprayed blood down her chest. "Brother..."

"Sango!" Miroku cried. He brought his hand up and focused it on Kagura. "Move or I swear I'll suck you into the wind tunnel you created. I don't care who's in the way, be they human, demon, or your damned poison insects.

"Fool! Would you really sac-"

"Wind tunnel!" The great vortex began to whirl, sucking in everything nearby. Rocks and debris flew into the hole in his hand and disappeared.

"What are you doing?" Kagura demanded. She produced a hive of Saimyoushou. Miroku didn't hesitate to suck in the insects, hive and all, despite the pain. "Are you insane?"

"Yes!" He yelled. Kagura was beginning to lose ground to the wind tunnel. Soldiers, human and demon were sucked in. "No..." He said, changing his answer, "I am not insane. I am in love. Sango means everything to me. Without her I might as well die. And if I die, I'll do it taking her revenge!" Miroku roared as he rushed towards Kagura. She flew towards him caught in the wind that she could not control.

"No! Stop this!" The wind stopped.

"No! Not now!" Kagura landed on top of him. His hand rested over her heart. The wind tunnel was gone. "Perfect!' Kagura smiled. "You've lost your strongest weapon and the poison courses through your veins. Now I'll finish you. DANCE OF BLADES"

At this range there was no way that Kagura could miss. Miroku prepared for the end, but it didn't come.

"DANCE OF BLADES!" Kagura waved her futilely. The wind would not come.

"I win." Miroku said feebly. He put the last of his energy into a punch that knocked Kagura unconscious on top of him.

"Sister..." Kohaku's eyes suddenly gained life. "Sango, what happened?"

"Kohaku..." Sango smiled happily despite her condition. "Ko... Ha... Ku..." Sango collapsed onto the stage at Kohaku's feet.

"No..." Kohaku saw her wound. It was unmistakable. "Sango... I'm, sorry Sango..." He trembled as he knelt down and clutched his sister's body. "Please, Sango, you can't..." He cried, "Don't let it happen, please... I DON'T WANT YOU TO DIE!"

* * *

Kagome dragged Inuyasha from the hole where she'd sat him. He was bleeding from his wounds. He had looked so strong. He had taken out everyone in his path as if they were nothing. He must have been bleeding the whole time. He looked so pale. "Inuyasha... Wake up..."

"There's too many of them!" Ayame grunted as she sliced open another demon puppet, "He must have been making these for months."

"Ayame!" Koga pushed the wolf girl out of the way as another demon puppet had tried to attack her from behind. Instead it was Koga who was impaled from behind, adding to the injury he had sustained when Inuyasha had broken Koga's arm.

"No Koga!" There was no way he would be getting up after that attack. He was surrounded by them. "Kyaa!" Ayame screamed as she sent out an attack of wind and leaves that sliced the demon puppets to shreds. More took their place immediately. Ayame did not have the strength to attack so soon. She was going to die, and worse, so was Koga and no one could save them. She screamed as a demonic tentacle flew towards her face. Then, it disintegrated. They all did. There was nothing left of the demon puppets but a stick tied with a piece of Naraku's hair. "Koga! Are you alright?" She rolled him onto his back and laid his head on her lap.

"Ayame..." He grinned weakly, "Takes more than that to stop me. What about you and Kagome..."

"Please Inuyasha..." Kagome begged, "I'll do anything you want, just wake up." She stroked his hair gently, "I won't S-I-T you anymore." She said, "You can mate me as soon as you're better... I won't let anyone go anywhere near me without your permission... Please don't die Inuyasha... I love you..." She bent down and kissed him on the lips.

"Ka... go... me..." Inuyasha's voice gurgled with blood bubbles as she released the kiss.

"Inuyasha..."

"Don't..."

"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked surprised. His eyes were barely open, "I thought..."

"Don't... for... get..."

"Don't forget what?"

"Your... pro... mise..." His eyes closed once again and he returned to sleep. 'I love you too...'

* * *

"You killed him." Sesshomaru noted as the demon puppets crumbled.

"He was weak and over confident." Bankotsu said, "Always protecting his heart, but treating the rest of his body as disposable. He might as well have placed a target on his chest."

"This Sesshomaru thinks that it is a fault you share."

"I've earned my confidence. No one has ever bested me in personal combat. None have even come close."He tossed his waist length gray ponytail.

"This Sesshomaru looks forward to the challenge." He surveyed the battlefield. The fighting had all but stopped. With the demon puppets gone and Naraku dead, everyone seemed to be tending to their fallen comrades. "I owe you for taking my revenge from me."

"Fighting for revenge. How quaint." Bankotsu smiled.

"What better reason could you have?" Sesshomaru asked, intrigued by the man's actions.

"Simple, killing is fun." He replied as if it were obvious, "I love the feeling of tearing the life away from a body with my Banryu. Human, demon, or even animal; I don't care. If it breathes, I will enjoy killing it."

"A waste... Killing without provocation, without reason. You cannot enjoy the lingering pleasure of a slow death, the pride that you have brought a strong opponent to his knees, the rewards of defending what belongs to you."

"You need a reason to kill?" Bankotsu grinned, "That's news to me, but I am happy to oblige." He said, generating a ball of spiritual energy with Banryu. "I'll take the thing that's most precious to you. Then I will get the best fight out of you!" Sesshomaru involuntarily shifted his eyes, glancing at Rin who watched his battle from a short distance away.

"So that is it." Bankotsu laughed, "I've always loved killing children." In a flash, Sesshomaru was attacking ferociously with his sword. Each strike sent out waves of stinging hatred, but Bankotsu deflected each strike, dodging the demonic energy.

"Is that your best?" He asked, "How disappointing." Bankotsu punched Sesshomaru in the face with his off hand and Sesshomaru was knocked to the ground. "The great Sesshomaru, powerful demon prince, felled by a single punch from a mere human."

"Hold your tongue!" Sesshomaru spat angrily. Never had he ever been made such a fool of.

"Fox magic!" Shippo threw an object towards Bankotsu.

"No!" Sesshomaru disintegrated the object with his poison whip."He is mine."

"Then let's get rid of the nuisance." Bankotsu finally released his ball of energy, sending it towards Shippo and Rin. Sesshomaru leapt in front of the attack. His sword shuddered as it fought against the attack.

"Run..! Now!" Sesshomaru ordered. As the attack began to overpower him. A loud crack sounded and Sesshomaru was struck by the energy, leaving deep gouges in his chest, but deflecting the ball enough that it missed the children. He glanced at his sword. It was cracked and warped in the middle of the blade. "Useless." Sesshomaru cursed as he sheathed the sword in his belt. "I told you to RUN!" Sesshomaru shouted. Rin grabbed Shippo's hand and ran towards where Inuyasha lay.

"You are alone, and your sword is destroyed." Bankotsu said, "Can you do nothing but dies?" Bankotsu mocked, "Am I so great that even the mighty Sesshomaru, who strikes fear into the hearts of his enemies, trembles before me."

"No. I just need the right sword." He dove for the spot where Inuyasha had dropped the Tetsusaiga, barely dodging Bankotsu's next attack. "And now I have it." He said, standing up holding his father's fang. "Wind scar." The blades of demonic energy from the Tetsusaiga met with a ball of energy from Bankotsu.

"Incredible." Bankotsu said, "Though I only used a fraction of Banryu's power, your sword managed to counter it."

"Your sword is not a demon sword. Where does its incredible power come from?" Sesshomaru asked as his blade clashed with Banryu.

"From the blood of my enemies." Bankotsu gloated. "This sword has soaked in the blood of ten thousand demons. With each kill, Banryu gets stronger." He slashed, "And stronger," He slashed again, "And stronger!" Sesshomaru was driven back by the blow and the Tetsusaiga was forced back until Banryu cracked Sesshomaru's armor.

"Strength without dignity." Sesshomaru growled, "You sicken me." He spun; side-stepping Banryu as it came crashing to the ground. "Wind scar."

"That was close." Bankotsu grinned, "A little faster and that would have hit me." He had managed to shield himself with Banryu.

"How many strikes will it take?" Sesshomaru asked, "When will your weapon fail you?"

"Not until long after you're dead." Bankotsu charged. Their swords clashed and with a deft movement Sesshomaru's sword went flying. "Now, die!" Bankotsu attacked with an overhead strike. Sesshomaru, in one fluid motion, drew the damaged sword from his belt and blocked the strike. There was a loud crack as the two blades met. The end of Sesshomaru's sword was severed by Banryu's powerful blade, embedding itself deeply into Bankotsu's throat. Banryu, jarred by the impact, dropped and stabbed Sesshomaru in the gut. "Urgleblug..." Bankotsu gurgled in amazement. He collapsed to the ground, drowning in his own blood.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" Rin ran over as fast as she could.

"I'm fine, Rin." Sesshomaru said casually. He didn't even flinch as he removed the giant halberd from his gut. "Were you injured?"

"No." Rin smiled and hugged Sesshomaru's leg.

"Call Jaken. I want all three swords fixed and hanging in my study by tomorrow."

"Of course Lord Sesshomaru!"

* * *

Sango and Miroku were dead. The poison had been too much for Miroku's body to handle, and this time he was not covered in purifying sacred sutras to protect him from it. His skin was not dark gray and blotchy from the Saimyoushou poison. He lay beside Sango in a massive grave where so many were being buried that Kagome could not count them all. Tears ran down her face and she cried onto Shippo's head as she held him in her arms for comfort. She looked down at the two bodies. They had loved each other so much. They had followed the wishes he had left in his will about his burial. His cursed hand would grope no one but Sango ever again. They had been her best friends here. She didn't know what she would do without them.

Kohaku stood solemnly beside her. Tears trickled down his face as they had ever since he had regained himself when Naraku had died. They had discovered that he had in fact been killed when the demons attacked. One of Naraku's Minions had shot the sacred jewel into his heart where it now stayed. The jewels influence seemed to have made him immortal as long as it remained embedded in his heart. When the doctors had examined him, he had begged them to remove it and end his suffering, but they had refused his request. Kagome had purified the jewel within him, which he thanked her for, but it wasn't what he wanted: living forever knowing he was responsible for his beloved sister's death. Kagome placed a comforting hand upon Kohaku's shoulder, but his tears only worsened.

"Let's go see the others." Kagome said to Shippo. He nodded. Kagome walked to the base, taking the elevator to the seventh level. Because of the number of injuries, the infirmary had been expanded so that many of the room on the level were now housing patients. They had brought in many more doctors and nurses to help with the load. Her friends, or at least those who had survived the battle, resided in the same large room with a few others.

"Stop it!" Koga growled, "I'm fine!" Ayame was fussing over him. She had received only some scrapes and bruises that had healed overnight. Koga, however, had his arm in a sling and a bandage around his chest.

"You're injured!" Ayame insisted, slamming him back down into the bed. "Don't make me tie you to the bed!"

"Hi, Ayame." Kagome greeted, "How are you doing?"

"I think I've gotten him handled." She smiled as she shoved some pills into his mouth and began pouring water down his throat while plugging his nose to ensure that he swallowed them.

"I can see that."

"That bitch is trying to kill me." Koga complained.

"Bite me!" Ayame countered. Koga scowled.

"How are you doing Kagome?"

"I'm not injured." She said.

"Hey..."

"Inuyasha! You're awake!"

"What about your promise." He asked, wincing as each breath caused him pain. Kagome knelt down beside the bed.

"You can barely move."

"So..."

"There's no way you're feeling strong enough to mate me right now."

"Not that... I never gave you permission to talk to Koga."

"I may have to break that promise once in a while."

"No. Never." Inuyasha insisted stubbornly.

"What if I go for a burger at WacDonalds and there are no female cashiers?"

"I guess you have to take me with you then." He smirked as he reached up and touched the mark that was quickly fading.

"We'll see." Kagome managed a small smile.

* * *

Over the next few weeks, people recovered and things returned to the relative normalcy in the base. Sesshomaru was appointed as the new director of the facility, and under him, demon attacks sharply dropped and an end to the turmoil seemed to be in sight. Inuyasha recovered fully and Kagome decided to keep at least one of her promises.

"Why do I have to do this?" Inuyasha grumbled as he fought with the men who were trying to stuff him into an attractive kimono that was meant to go well with Kagome's.

"If you're going to mate me, you have to marry me first!" Kagome shouted through the curtain.

"But that's like doing the same thing twice!"

"Just do it!" Kagome ordered, "Before I sit you!" Kagome said, breaking her promise not to sit him anymore, for the third time that day.

"Fine!" Inuyasha grumbled, coming out a minute later, suitably dressed for the occasion.

"You better behave." Kagome hissed as they headed through the rows of guests to kneel before the Higurashi Shrine's altar. Kagome's grandfather was the priest officiating the service.

Kagome glanced over the crowd. Of course, her mother and Sota were there. They had both been extremely happy to know that Inuyasha would be joining the family, despite her grandfather's. With them sat Shippo who had taken to them well and had almost immediately become best friends with Sota who loved the little fox's magic.

Also in the front row, two flowers represented the two friends who had so recently been buried. Next to that was Sango's brother Kohaku. He had yet to accept his fate, but was aided by the most unlikely of friends. Kanna sat next to him holding his hand. While losing Naraku had stripped her of her demonic powers, her basic essence meant that she was as immortal as Kohaku was. They found comfort in each other's pain and lack of purpose without those who had been closest to them.

Koga and Ayame were also there. Ayame was sporting a brand new mark that resembled brown wolf heads and black claw marks that Koga had given her in a fit of passion when he had learned that Kagome was actually going to mate the mutt. He had discovered that it was not so bad being Ayame's mate.

Her friends from school were there. Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi were extremely happy for her, despite the fact that that they used to encourage her to accept Hojo's advances. Hojo himself sat near them looking rather sullen, despite his obviously fake smile.

Kaede and many soldiers whom she didn't know, but obviously knew her had also crashed the wedding. Thanks to Ayame's insistence, Hakkaku and Ginta sat in the back with them. It was an excellent turn out.

Kagome slapped her face. Myoga the flea floated flattened to the ground. "Haven't seen you for a while."

"I had important business to attend to." Myoga said.

"Ran away as soon as it got dangerous and didn't come back is more like it." Inuyasha said.

"A fine way to treat a guest who comes to wish you good luck on your wedding day!" Myoga said, pretending to be insulted.


End file.
